Just to keep things even more interesting in the East China/Philippine Seas than they are already ar

Just to keep things even more interesting in the East China/Philippine Seas than they are already are, let us hearken back to the days of the Ryukyu Kingdom - comprising the Ryukyu Islands that have been so deliciously attractive to a number of attentive empires…..the first to take an active hand being Japan, of course, and then the United States of America under a number of military post-war guises, before the islands were passed back to Japan in the early 1970s.  Which is not to say the United States of Americans don’t still spend a bunch of time there [Okinawa, of course], and also is not to say that there haven’t been calls for a secession and return to independent kingdom status…..Stamp details:Top left:Issued on: July 1, 1948From: Naha, United States Military Government of the Ryukyu IslandsMC #1Top right:Issued on: February 15, 1950From: Naha, United States Military Government of the Ryukyu IslandsMC #15Middle stamp:Issued on: October 1, 1951From: Naha, United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu IslandsMC #21Stamp on bottom:Issued on: April 17, 1972From: Naha, United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu IslandsMC #256 Recognized as a sovereign state by the UN: NoClaimed by: State of Japan Member of the Universal Postal Union: No -- source link

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