BBC News - Politics at play in Sea Shepherd-Japan whaling wars

BBC News - Politics at play in Sea Shepherd-Japan whaling wars: Geopolitical factors are also at work, according to retired Australian Rear Adm James Goldrick, namely Japan's dispute with China over the Senkaku/Daioyu Islands. "If Japan is seen as being weak with Sea Shepherd," he notes, "how will China interpret this but as a signal to continue its own hard line approach?"