A timely reminder about the parallel between Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand and the Senkaku / Diaoyu Islands.  There is a real danger of war over this inherently insignificant issue.  Most wars begin in trivial disputes. 
The "Global Times" is a mouthpiece for Chinese nationalism.  It does not speak for the government but reflects a significant strain of opinion within the ranks of the Chinese Communist Party.  Japan has just elected a prime minister who is as hardline as this editorial.

The current tone of Sino-Japanese relations recalls what Pericles is reported to have said on the eve of the Peloponnesian War: "If we do go to war, harbor no thought that you went to war over a trivial affair. For you this trifling matter is the assurance and the proof of your determination. If you yield to their demands, they will immediately confront you with some larger demand, since they will think that you only gave way on the first point out of fear. But if you stand firm, you will show them that they have to deal with you as equals ... When our equals, without agreeing to arbitration of the matter under dispute, make claims on us as neighbors and state those claims as commands, it would be no better than slavery to give in to them, no matter how large or how small the claim may be."

This is something to watch closely in 2013.

Considered strategy needed in Diaoyu spat

Global Times | http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/751823.shtml
Published on December 24, 2012

The Japanese Air Self-Defense Force scrambled F-15 fighter jets to intercept China's marine surveillance aircrafts over the Diaoyu Islands Saturday. Although Prime Minister-elect Shinzo Abe announced he would defer dispatching law enforcement staff to the islands and will instead send envoys to neighboring countries to mend ties, his hawkish stance will not change, and nor will the right-wing tendency of Japanese society. The friction and tensions between China and Japan will continue to rise. 

More Chinese are wondering if a war will break out between the two. Some strategists believe that although neither has the will to fight a war, the Diaoyu dispute could be the trigger. Once the dispute intensifies into a war, the sentiments of the public from both countries may explode, which will result in large-scale military clashes.

The Chinese public knows little about the country's military strength and their contempt for Japan is soaring. The deeply rooted resentment against Japan, once ignited, will have incredible power.