Facing strong protests from the Chinese government and Chinese people, the Japanese government still said publicly that it would not change its decision of "nationalizing" the Diaoyu Islands.

China has announced the baselines of the territorial waters of the Diaoyu Islands and their affiliated islets. Also, Chinese marine surveillance ships have entered the waters around the Diaoyu Islands. However, these measures are not enough. China has to establish a special fund to safeguard the sovereignty of the Diaoyu Islands.

This proposal is a result of Japan's increasing budget related to the Diaoyu Islands. It is also based on the research and thinking around the current situation of the Diaoyu Islands. 

The Japan Coast Guard decided to increase their budget by about 40 billion yen ($500 million) to strengthen the guarding of their territorial waters and maritime rights and interests. Besides building ships and helicopters, they want to establish electronic transmission system to strengthen the guard around the Diaoyu Islands. Japan will also allocate additional funding to promote its international publicity efforts.

We have reason to believe that the increase of the budget is aimed at China. Japan is used to taking the initiative in its foreign policies, while China always chooses to hold back before taking action. So we're easy to be driven into a passive position. We should take the initiative to focus on foreign publicity and gain more advantage in international public opinion.

China's research on the Diaoyu Islands is insufficient right now. There are some people who have long studied the Diaoyu Islands. However, there is no single institute which is responsible for this dispute. Private research institutions are very fragmented. Some of these institutions are even sponsored by Japan. China should establish a specialized institution to promote our sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands.

There are two reasons Japan is so confident about the Diaoyu Islands. One is the dependence on covert support by the US, and the other is on its own military and economic power. However, such situation will change. Some scholars think that, in 30 years' time, we will have more policy space in dealing with territorial issues. This is the so-called "long-term potential" we expect.

But in order to realize this, we have to take actions now. China's fiscal position is not stretched right now. So if we can economize resources from the central to local governments, and from the governmental agencies to companies, we will mobilize enough funds to solve the current short-term challenges.

The author is a researcher at the Chinese Association of Asia-Pacific Studies. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn