The Senkaku Islands are a group of rocky, deserted islets in the East China Sea that are known as a home for albatrosses.

But when it comes to politics, the islands are anything but tranquil, being the center of a dispute involving Japan, China and Taiwan, which all claim them as their own.

Called Diaoyu in China and Tiaoyutai in Taiwan, the islands measure some 7 sq. km in total.