CASE NUMBER: 30
CASE IDENTIFIER: DIAOYU
CASE DESCRIPTION: DIAOYUTAI ISLANDS DISPUTE
Draft Author: Cheng-China Huang (June 1997)
International law presents many unanswered questions about the Diaoyu Islands dispute. What is the nature of discovery and occupation for uninhabited islands? Were the Diaoyu Islands part of Taiwan or Okinawa before 1895? Finally, how will the disputed islands affect maritime jurisdiction? In order to understand the detail of the Diaoyu Islands dispute, this case study will observe the relationship between the Diaoyu conflict and the related environmental issues.
The term "Diao Yu Tai" in Chinese means "Fishing Platform". The earliest historical records of the islands are Chinese navigation records from 1403, and references to Diaoyu Islands occur in Chinese logs and Chinese maps of the Liu Chiu chain from that time. For several centuries, the Diaoyu Islands have been administered as one part of Taiwan and have always been used exclusively by Chinese fishermen as an base for fishing, both before and after World War II. (For more detail, see Prof. Kiyoshi Inoue's paper in 1972 "Diaoyu Islands and other islands are Chinese Territory")
In 1874, Japan took Liu Chiu Islands (Okinawa) from China by force when Chinese Ching Dynasty was involved in several wars with other foreign countries. However, the Diaoyu Islands still remained under the administration of Taiwan, a part of China. After being defeated by Japan in the Sino-Japan War, China ceded Taiwan to Japan under the Shimonoseki Treaty. As a part of Taiwan, the Diaoyutai Islands belonged to Japan at that time.
Taiwan was returned to China at the end of World War II in 1945 based upon the 1943 agreement of the Cairo and Potsdam Declarations. The Japanese government accepted the terms that stated in these documents"...that all the territories Japan has stolen from the Chinese, such as Manchuria, Formosa, the Pescadores, shall be restored to the Republic of China.
In 1951 Article 2 of the Treaty of Peace with Japan signed by Japan and the Allied Powers (excluding both the ROC and the PRC) stated that, "Japan renounces all right, title and claim to Formosa and the Paracels". Article Four of the separate peace treaty signed between Japan and the ROC in 1952 declared that all agreements between Japan and China before 1941 were null and void. [2] As stated above, it is reasonable to take the mean that Diaoyu Islands should be returned to China because the Diaoyu Islands are one part of Taiwan. However, Japanese have maintained that the islands should not be included in these treaties. This issue remain quiet through the 1950s and 1960s probably because the these small uninhabited islands held little interests for the three countries.
The Diaoyu Islands issue had not been raised until ECAFE (United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East) suggested possible large hydrocarbon deposit in the waters off Diaoyutai in 1969 (actually, no oil has ever been found and no systematic search for oil has yet been carried out). In 1970, the U.S. and Japan signed the Okinawa Reversion Treaty which included Diaoyu Islands as part of Okinawa to be returned to Japanese rule. This Treaty was immediately challenged by both ROC (Taiwan) and PRC (mainland China). The dispute came into the open when the Japanese government delivered a note to the ROC government stating that its bids to exploit the oil potential around the island were not valid. [3] In September 1970, a Taiwanese gunboat planted the ROC flag on the islands. In December, the PRC intervened in this dispute, stating that the Diaoyu (and Taiwan) were China's territory and that exploitation of the area by foreign countries would not be tolerated. [4] At first the U.S. government appeared to support the Japanese claim. However, because the U.S. government wanted to improve relations with the PRC, it then took a neutral stance over the dispute. The U.S. claimed that its involvement could, "...in no way prejudice any underlying claims... The United States...considers that any conflicting claims are a matter for resolution by the parties concerned." [5] Since this time, the U.S. government has studiously avoided involvement in the dispute.
Since the reversion of Okinawa to Japanese rule, the Japanese government has repeatedly sent its naval forces to eject Chinese fishermen from this area. A crisis occurred in 1978 when the Japanese right wing political group Nihon Seinensha (Japanese Youth Federation) illegally erected a lighthouse on Daioyutai in an attempt to legitimize Japanese territorial claim over the islands. The event raised angry protests from Chinese communities all around the world. However, this was over-shadowed by the signing of the Sino-Japanese Peace and Friendship Treaty in October 1978. Both Chinese and Japanese government had agreed to shelve the issue for future resolution.
Another crisis of Diaoyutai dispute concerned Japan and Taiwan in 1990. On 29 September, the Japanese government decided it would allow the Nihon Seinensha to renovate a lighthouse they had erected on the islands in 1978. [6] Criticism from the independence leaning opposition party in Taiwan, the DPP (Democratic Progressive Party), Wu Tung-yi, the KMT mayor of the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung, organised two fishing boats to transport the "Taiwan Area Athletic Meet"[7] to the islands with an Olympic torch to demonstrate the ROC's claim to the Diaoyutai. This event showed that the Diaoyu Islands issue was not only simply a problem of who owned the natural resource, it also had been used by opposition parties as a tool to attack the government's ability to handle this issue.
In July of 1996, the right wing group Nihon Seinensha made their
third illegal landing on Diaoyutai, erecting a new
lighthouse on the northern islet. Though this lighthouse was
unexpectedly destroyed by a typhoon later, the group soon built
another lighthouse on September 9th. Again, the Chinese
communities, especially from Hong Kong and Taiwan, held an even
larger protest against Japanese government. The issue is still
going on among the three countries.
| 1895 | China ceded Taiwan and Diaoyutai Islands to Japan after Sino-Japan War under the Shimonoseki Treaty. |
| 1945 | Japan surrendered, Taiwan returned to China under Cairo and Potsdom Declarations. |
| 1952 | The U.S. government administrated Okinawa and the Diaoyutai under San Francisco Treaty |
| 1968 | The United Nations reported that there might be existing of hydrocarbon deposit in the waters off Diaoyutai |
| 1970 | The U.S. and Japan signed the Okinawa Reversion Treaty which included Diaoyutai Islands as part of Okinawa |
| 1971 | More than five thousands students protested against Japan in the United States. |
| 1972 | The Japanese government claimed sovereignty over Diaoyutai Islands following Chinese government's formal claim |
| 1978 | Japan established official relationship with China. Two governments agreed to shelve the issue |
| 1989 | September, Japan expelled Taiwanese boats operated around the Diaoyutai Islands |
| 1990 | September, the Japanese government recognized the lighthouse which was made by the right-wing group in the Diaoyutai Island. |
| October, China formally protested again Japanese action in Diaoyutai dispute. | |
| 1992 | 25, February, China passed the territorial sea law, which included the Diaoyutai as part of China's territory |
| 1996 | 15, July, Japanese Youth Federation illegally erected another lighthouse. Again, Chinese held even larger activities to protect the Diaoyutai Islands |
Continent: Asia
Region: East Asia
Country: Japan The Diaoyutai Islands located 120 miles northeast of Taiwan on the continental shelf and are separated from the Liu Chiu Islands (Ryukyu Islands) by a deep underwater trench (over 1000 meters deep). There are five small volcanic islands and three rocky outcroppings in the Diaoyu group. Most of the islets are clustered around the largest island, Uotsuri/Diaoyu, which covers roughly 8 hectares and lies 170 km northeast of Taiwan and 410 km west of Okinawa. Two outlying islets, Kobi- sho/Huangwei Yu and Akao-sho/Chiwei Yu, are located 31 km and 108 km from Uotsuri/Diaoyu Island, respectively. None of the islets is inhabited. All the Diaoyu Islands lie within the 200-m isobath, at the edge of the Asian geologic continental shelf. The 2,270-m-deep Okinawa Trough lies seaward of the Diaoyu Islands, separating them from the nearest undisputed Japanese islands. In terms of distance, the distance between Taiwan and the Diaoyu Islands is indeed shorter than the distance between Okinawa and Diaoyu Islands. It seems reasonable to include the Diaoyu Islands as a part of Taiwan's territory.
"It is true that the two sides maintain different views on this
question...It does not matter if this question is shelved for some
time, say, ten years. Our generation is not wise enough to find
common language on this question. Our next generation will
certainly be wiser. They will certainly find a solution acceptable
to all." [8]
This dispute was not an issue until the UN "suggested" that there
might be oil deposit in the Diayutai area in early 1970s. Before
that time, the three government seemed to less enthusiastic about
the Diaoyutai Islands. The issue is related to the ownership of
natural resource and the territory it is on.
However, as mentioned above, this dispute was not simply about
"oil". It also involved other circumstances in the three
countries. Clearly, the Diaoyutai has a strong implication of
nationalism. National pride concerning the islands is an issue for
the three countries, especially for the Chinese and Taiwanese given
the recent history of Japanese aggression.
An even more important significance of the Diaoyutai Islands is its
implication for other island and maritime disputes involving China,
Japan and Taiwan. For the PRC, the Diaoyutai issue is linked to
China's other maritime claims, particularly with regard to the
South China Sea. The reason that Beijing government cannot soften
their attitude toward the Diaoyutai is clear. If they soften their
posture over the Diaoyutai, they might be considered as softening
of their position on the Spratly and Paracel island disputes in the
South China Sea. We also should not forget that because the
Diaoyutai Islands is part of Taiwan, China's sovereignty claim on
Diaoyutai also implied that Taiwan is one part of China.
For the Japanese, any softening on the Diaoyutai might have
implications for the more serious territory dispute with Russia
over the question of the "Northern Territories". In addition, the
islands have become an important nationalist symbol that used by
the right-wing parties to attack the current government. The most
critical point is that the right-wing groups can make gestures
about the Diaoyu Islands at any time and so cause serious problems
for Japan's relations with both China and Taiwan. This is also
concerned by the Japanese government.
For Taiwan, the government also wants the issue to die down because
Taiwan's trade with Japan is vital to its economy. The absence of
diplomatic ties with Japan make it difficult for Taiwanese to lodge
protests. If Taiwan uses some economic measures such as sanctions,
Taiwan will hurt itself because of heavy dependence on Japanese
products. From economic perspective, this probably is the key
reason that Taiwan wants to abate the dispute.
The conflict among China, Japan and Taiwan over the sovereignty of
Diaoyutai Islands is directly linked to the environmental issue of
territory dispute. The sovereignty claim on the Diaoyutai by each
of the three countries is the direct cause to the conflict. The
following diagram illustrates the relationship among the conflict,
nationalism, sovereignty and bilateral relations.
The story started from the sovereignty claim over the Diaoyutai by
each of the three countries. The sovereignty claim was due to the
possible oil existing in the Diaoyu Islands area. Thus, natural
resource has a positive both on sovereignty and the Diaoyutai
conflict. Sovereignty goal also raised
nationalism in both Chinese and Japanese sides. In China or
Taiwan, the nationalists linked Japan's actions on Diaoyutai with
militarism and recalled the history that Japanese massacred 300
thousand Chinese in Nanjing in
1937. In Japan, nationalists used territory disputes as a tools to
attack the government's policies. Thus, both the independent
variables of sovereignty and nationalism were two important inputs
for the Diaoyutai conflict.
It is also interesting to see that the Diaoyutai conflict has an
inverse positive effect on sovereignty. As mentioned earlier, the
sovereignty of Diaoyutai has a strong implication for Chinese
concerning with their sovereignty in the South China Sea. For
Japanese, the Diaoyutai dispute also implied Japanese attitude
toward the territory disputes with Russia. Even for the Taiwanese,
claiming
Diaoyutai as their territory might be linked to formal
independence.
Both nationalism and sovereignty may contribute to negative effects
on bilateral relations. Considering the bilateral relations, the
three countries want to die down the issue instead of fighting each
other. The good bilateral relations, particularly China with
Japan; Japan with Taiwan, had reduced the tension on the Diaoyutai
dispute.
II. Environment
Aspects
6. Type of Environmental Issue: Resource (Oil)
7. Type of Habitat: Ocean
8. Act and Harm Sites:
Act Site Harm Site Example
China China Sea Commons Oil Spill into Sea
III. Conflict
Aspects
9. Type of Conflict: Interstate
10. Level of Conflict: Warthreat
11. Fatality Level of Dispute: 0
III. Environment and Conflict Overlap
12. Environment-Conflict Link and Dynamics: Direct
13. Level of Strategic Interest: Region
14. Outcome of Dispute: Stalemate
IV. Related
Information and Sources
15. Related ICE Cases
| ICE |
|---|
1. Tao Cheng, "The Sino-Japanese Dispute over the Tiao-yu-tai (Senkaku) Islands and the law of Territorial Acquitition," Virginia Journal of International Law 14 (1973-74):248-60.
2. Lee Wei-chin, "Trouble under the Water: Sino-Japanese Conflict of Sovereignty on the Continental Shelf in the East China Sea," Ocean Development and International Law 18(1987):586, pp.143-147.
3. Kim Young-tae, "Sino-Japanese Relations:The Making of the Peace and Friendship Treaty" Ph.D thesis, George Washington University, 1990, pp.219-230.
4. Tretiak Daniel, "The Sino-Japanese Treaty of 1978: The Senkaku Incident Prelude" Asian Survey Vol.18, No.12, December 1978, pp.1235-1249.
5. Kim Byung-chin, "The Northeast Asian Continental Shelf Controversy: A Case Study in Conflict Resolution Among South Korea, Japan, China and Taiwan", PH.D thesis Florida State University, 1980.
6. Bejing Review. History proves Diaoyu Islands are China's territory Sep 22-29, 1996, v39n39, p.10
7. Hifumi, Arai. "Angry at China? Slam Japan" Far Eastern Economic Review Otc 3, 1996, v159n40, p.21
8. Economist, Senkaku Islands: A Sporting Effort Oct 27, 1990, v317n7678, p.37-38.
9. Hyer Eric. "The South China Sea disputes: Implications of China's earlier territorial settlements." Pacific Affairs Spring 1995, v68n1, p.34-54.
10. Kang, K Connie. "A unifying campaign" Los Angeles Times, Oct 3, 1996, B, 3:2
Diaoyutai Defense
Coalition of Northern California
Bao Diao WWW site in
Hong Kong
SinaNet for Diaoyu Islands
the Chinese Commercial News
of Manila, Philippines
Chinas
cape -- Chinese Web Index for Protection of Diaoyu Islands
Bao Diao Logo
Diao Yua
Index
Diaoyu Page Diao Yu Tai Island Incident
Hong Kong Internet Ming Pao Daily News
Stop
Japanese Invasion
The Democratic
Party, Hong Kong
The Diaoyu Islands Are Part of China's
Territory
1. Japan calls the islands Sento Shosho or Senkaku Retto. The People's Republic of China terms them Diaoyu Tai, and the Republic of China renders the same Chinese characters in a different romanization system as Tiao Yu Tai.[back]
2. Cairo Declaration, November 26, 1943, in Chiu op. Cit. P.215.[back]
3. Tao Cheng, op.cit. Pp.242-3.[back]
5. United States State Department, reprinted in Park, p.37. For the motives behind the U.S. government's changing stance see John Welfield, Empire in Eclipse: Japan in the Postwar American Alliance System (London: Athlone Press, 1988) p.310. Japanese Foreign Minister Fukuda criticised the Americans for being "evasive" over the status of the islands, FEERApril 1,1972, p.4.[back]
6. The Independent (London) Monday 22 October, 1990.[back]
7. Taiwan holds th "Taiwan Area Athletic Meet" in different city
each year. When the Diaoyu conflict went on in 1990, the Meet was
held in Kaohsiung. In order to defense the opposition party DDP's
criticism, the KMT mayor of Kaohsiung thus organized fishing boats
to demonstrate Taiwan's claim to the Diaoyu Islands.[back]
8. Deng Xiaoping, quoted in Chi-kin Lo China's policy Toward
Territorial Disputes: The Case of the South China Sea Islands
(London: Routledge, 1989) pp.171-2. The Taiwanese side stated that
the agreement between Japan and China in no way altered Taiwan's
title to the Diaoyutai, Zhongguo Shibao 13 August 1978,
Zhongyang Ribao 13 August, 1978.[back]