evidence: Now Beijing may be slowly peeling back the onion in another disputed island chain, the rocky, uninhabited Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, administered by Japan and known as the Diaoyus in China. [...] The country’s Foreign Ministry maintains the islands are China’s inherent territory, and has accused Japanese fishing boats of making "repeated intrusions" into the area. [...] Some may argue that the Senkakus has one layer of protection China may not be able to peel back – the US-Japan Security Treaty, which requires Washington to defend Japanese territory.