CBEST California Teacher Exam Prep

Category - California Basic Educational Skills Test Prep

There are a group of islands located in the East China Sea that are the subject of a dispute between two nations. China calls the islands Diaoyu; in Japan, they are known as the Senkaku. Both nations claims sovereignty over the islands. China asserts that they discovered the eight uninhabited islands, and controlled them until the end of the Sino-Japanese War in 1895. Before the war, Japan incorporated the islands into their territory.

Japan control the disputed East China Sea islands until World War II. Following the war, a 1951 treaty with Japan gave the United States rights to administer the islands. That authority reverted back to Japan in 1971. China asserts that the 1951 treaty should have given them control over the islands. In 1969, the United Nations reported that there was a possibility of large oil reserves in the East China Sea near the islands location. China and Japan have been locked in a territorial dispute since the 1970s. Its conflict has escalated in recent times, with citizens from both nations protesting and raising flags on different islands. The countries have launched diplomatic efforts to resolve the issue.

What is the main idea of this passage?
  1. A group of islands in the East China Sea are claimed by both Japan and China.
  2. The discovery of oil in the East China Sea has led to the rekindling of an old land dispute between China and Japan.
  3. The United States mistakenly granted Japan control of the Diaoyu or Senkaku islands in 1951.
  4. Japan lost control of the Senkaku Islands as a result of WWII.
Explanation
Answer [A]: The main idea of this passage is that a group of islands in the East China Sea are claimed by both Japan and China. The other answer choices assign specific events or dates to the claims. While those dates are correct, they are too specific. The dispute stretches back centuries, as China claims to have discovered the islands and Japan incorporated the islands into their territories prior to the Sino-Japanese War in 1895.
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