The story has been in the wires for days and, in the last week, many have echoed it in their personal messages. Following is Caitlin Dewey’s analysis for the Washington Post, published on July 26, 2013 at 6:30 am.

In the latest passive-aggressive escalation of the Diaoyu/Senkaku Island dispute, a Chinese computer game originally designed to train soldiers has added a level that lets players “reclaim and defend” the vacant but heavily disputed islands between China and Japan.

“Glorious Mission Online,” China’s Call of Duty equivalent, already involved the standard faux-military missions common in such games. But the updated online version, as first reported by the South China Morning Post, will also have players simulating a battle against Japanese soldiers on the islands and using the Liaoning, China’s first aircraft carrier. It’s particularly provocative given that the People’s Liberation Army helped develop the game.

The Diaoyu Islands — called the Senkaku Islands in Japan — are a constant and increasingly heated source of conflict for the two countries. While Japan has controlled the islands for nearly 40 years, China insists it’s owned them since antiquity. Japan further exacerbated debate when it bought the islands from a private landowner and nationalized them last September...MORE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdpSgEn73ms&feature=player_embedded (Jeremy Blum, July 22, 2013))