The Sino-Japanese Rare Earths Row: Will China's Loss be India's Gain?

摘要

Following the dispute over the seizure of a Chinese trawler and its crew by Japan in the disputed waters in the East China Sea believed to be rich in oil and gas resources, Beijing has been flexing its muscles against Tokyo in another area. However, this one may have far deeper consequences not only for Japan but for the rest of the world.Soon after the dispute erupted, Japan said that China had banned exports of rare earth minerals to that country, which Beijing has subsequently denied. However, given that Japan is the largest recipient of China's rare earth minerals exports, and given the importance of these ores in the production of a variety of modern technology, from armaments to TV sets to renewable energy products, and the fact that China has a virtual monopoly over the production of the world's rare earth minerals, this has rightly created concerns, certainly in Japan, as well as the rest of the world which has unfortunately allowed itself to become dependent on Chinese exports of these minerals.