Core Interest
The term “core interest” might sound like simple editorial boilerplate or a harmless diplomatic cliché
Will China Arm Its Fishermen to Protect a 'Core Interest'?
"Images of Wednesday's front pages from a number of Chinese newspapers have been collated (with translated headlines) by China Digital Times, with stories denouncing Japan and claiming the islands as Chinese territory. The state media, it appears, is ..."
http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/12/will-china-arm-its-fishermen-to-protect-a-core-interest/
“We should militarize our fishermen,” said He Jianbin, the head of the large state-owned Baosha fishing corporation, referring to confrontations near the Spratly islands, another of Beijing’s disputes in the region.
http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/12/will-china-arm-its-fishermen-to-protect-a-core-interest/