Despite China's strong opposition and warnings, the Japanese government went ahead with its plan to "purchase" the Diaoyu Islands from its "private owner". The tension between China and Japan over the Diaoyu Islands is very high and bound to make the future of Sino-Japanese ties more uncertain.

Japan intensified the Diaoyu Islands dispute because its long-term expansionary designs has encountered a new international strategic environment. This expansionary design is rooted in the Japanese nation's strong belief in its mightier-than-the-rest thinking. That is to say the "purchase" of the Diaoyu Islands is not just a farce orchestrated by Japanese right-wing forces, but an application of Japan's expansionary strategy.

Since the Meiji Restoration, which restored imperial rule in Japan in 1868, Japanese leaders have been pursuing expansion by launching wars to grab other countries' territories and resources. China was a victim of Japanese aggression in the late 19th century and the 1930s and 1940s until Japan surrendered unconditionally in World War II.