Tensions have erupted over some barren rocks in the Pacific that you may never have heard of, but stay tuned—this is a boundary dispute(争端) that could get ugly and some day have far-reaching consequences for China, Japan, Taiwan and the United States. The islands in dispute are called the Senkaku chain by Japan, the Diaoyu islands by China, and the Diaoyutai by Taiwan. All three claim the islands, which are really just five small islands and three barren rocks northeast of Taiwan, 200 miles off the Chinese coast. The latest conflict occurred when a Chinese fishing boat collided(碰撞) with two Japanese naval ships trying to stop it near the islands. The Japanese prevented the Chinese captain from leaving the place for questioning and the two countries have been exchanging angry protests. The reason to worry is that nationalists in both China and Taiwan see the islands as unquestionably theirs and think that their government has been weak in claiming this authority. So far, wiser heads have generally won the argument on each side, but at some point a weakened Chinese leader might try to gain the legal right with the public by pushing the issue and recovering the islands. It would be a dangerous game and would have a disastrous impact on China-Japan relations, but if successful it would raise the popularity of the Chinese government. In reality, of course, there is zero chance that the U.S. will honor its treaty(条约) with Japan over a few barren rocks. We're not going to risk a nuclear conflict with China over some islands that may well be China's. But if we don't help, our security relationship with Japan will be at the breaking point. So which country has a better claim to the islands? My feeling is that it's China, although the answer isn't clear-cut. Chinese navigational records show the islands as Chinese for many centuries, and a 1783 Japanese map shows them as Chinese as well. Japan purported to “discover” the islands only in 1884 and took control of them by force only in 1895 when it also grabbed Taiwan. The best approach would be for China and Japan to agree to refer the dispute to the International Court of Justice, but realistically that won't happen. And since some believe that the area is rich with oil and gas reserves, the claims from each side have become more insistent. As Chinese nationalism grows, as China's navy and ability to project power in the ocean gains, we could see some military conflicts over the islands. Taken from NewYork Times 小题1:The underlined word “purported” (in Para.7) is closest in meaning to “_____”.
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