Committee: ga 3 – Territorial Issue: The question of Senkaku/Diaoyu islands Student Officer

At the heart of this issue lies an island group consisting of five uninhabited islands and three barren rocks. These islands, known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, are located in East China Sea and have been controlled by Japan since 1895. The issue developed over time mainly because of the redistribution of territory captured by Japanese powers during World War II and partly because of the discord engendered after the First Sino-Japanese War. Current Chinese and Taiwanese claims over the sovereignty of the islands, triggering major political turmoil in the region, erupted only after 1968 when United Nations Economic Council for Asia and the Far East unearthed rich oil reserves in the area.

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As of right now, the long-standing territorial dispute over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands not only strains the bilateral relations between the two most prominent economic powers in Asia, namely China and Japan, but also endangers the fragile power balance in the region. Since there is a mutual security agreement between the United States of America (USA) and Japan that binds them to act together against common danger, the initiation of any sort of military action to obtain the sovereignty of the islands may spawn a spill-over effect that would put international community’s welfare in great peril. Therefore it is extremely important for Japan, China and Taiwan to ease the tensions and find a common ground to settle the dispute.

In the official web page of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Japan’s stance on the issue is made clear through the following statement: “There is no doubt that the Senkaku Islands are clearly an inherent part of the territory of Japan, in light of historical facts and based upon international law. Indeed, the Senkaku Islands are under the valid control of Japan. There exists no issue of territorial sovereignty to be resolved concerning the Senkaku Islands.” ²As stated in the quote, Japanese authorities base their arguments on historical facts and international law. These fact and laws mainly include a survey conducted by Japan in 1885 to firmly establish that the Islands were terra nullius (land belonging to no state), the presence of Japanese citizens and businesses on the Islands since 1896, San Francisco Treaty and Okinawa Reversion Agreement.

Furthermore, Japanese government does not recognize any of the assertions made either by China or Taiwan and it regards these proclamations as invalid and baseless grounds created to exploit the rich oil reserves around the Islands.

China

Moreover, Chinese authorities also claim that Nansei Shoto Islands, which were given to US administration under the auspices of San Francisco Treaty, did not include Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands and that the USA unilaterally enlarged the extent of jurisdiction of itself in a fashion that allows the inclusion of Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands.

Last but not least, in 2013 China, disregarding any Japanese repercussions recognized a new Air Defense Identification Zone over East China Sea covering the disputed region. Although a Chinese defense ministry spokesman said “It is not directed against any specific country or target⁴”, this act, binding every aircraft entering the zone to comply with Chinese regulations, escalated the volatile situation.

Statements made by Taiwan are quite similar to those of China. Both countries claim their own sovereignty over the islands. However, in April 2012, when Taiwan declined China’s request to work cooperatively to resolve the dispute, a Taiwanese official stated that it is not possible for the two countries to settle the question together due to the existence of sovereignty issues between China and Taiwan.

Unites States Government, an important element for the defense of Japan, not only declares the legitimate administrative rights of the Islands belonging to Japan but also recognizes any unilateral action, taken by a third party in order to emasculate Japanese authority in the region, as unlawful. Moreover, in his visit to Japan in April 2014, US President Barrack Obama affirmed that Article 5 of Treaty of Mutual Cooperation And Security Between Japan and The Unites States of America, that obliges the two states to act against an attack on territories under the administration of Japan, applies to the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands as well.

1. 
   Historical Background
   

2. 
   Natural Resources Around the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands
   

3. 
   Diplomatic Results and Protests
   

Nautical Mile: Nautical mile (nM) is a unit of distance that is approximately 1.8 kilometers. UNCLOS uses this unit to determine the bounds of the national seas of states and the zones in which nations could exploit marine resources.

Air Defense Identification Zone: An Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) is airspace in which the recognition, position, and control of aircraft is required to maintain national security.

Date (Day/Month/Year)	Event
August 1, 1894	First Sino-Japanese War starts.
January 14, 1895	Japan incorporates the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands into its territory.
April 17, 1895	China and Japan sign the Shimonoseki Treaty.
August 15, 1945	Japan surrenders and relinquishes Taiwan to China in Cairo and Potsdam Declarations.
March 20, 1952	San Francisco Treaty is signed and in light of Article 3 of the treaty the islands are placed under US administration.
July 7, 1968	UN announces the existence of possible oil reserves around the Islands.
August 12, 1970	Okinawa Reversion Treaty is signed between Japan and US, and the Islands are recognized as part of Okinawa.
June 17, 1971	With the signing of Agreement Between US and Japan Concerning the Ryukyu Islands and the Diaotu Islands, Japan retrieves the administration of the Islands.
August 12, 1978	China and Japan agrees to shelve the issue for future resolution under the Japan-China Peace and Friendship Treaty.
1996-2004	Several protests kindled by Japanese, Chinese and Taiwanese activists emerge.
September 7, 2010	Bilateral relationships between China and Japan strain when Japanese officials arrested a Chinese fisherman after a Chinese troller had collided with Japanese patrol boats near the disputed islands.
September 10, 2012	Japanese Government buys the islands from their private owner.
September 15-16, 2012	The most prevalent and violent anti-Japanese protests breakout since China and Japan stabilized diplomatic relations in 1972. The Japanese embassy in Beijing along with Japanese restaurants and factories are attacked.
2012-2013	Protests continue.
November 23, 2013	China declares the new expanded Chinese AIDZ over the East China Sea.
April, 2014	Barrack Obama expresses his support for Japan regarding the dispute in his visit to Tokyo.

Treaty of Shimonoseki, signed in 1895, not only ended the First Sino- Japanese War but also gave the sovereignty of the island of Formosa along with all the rather small islands belonging to Formosa to Japan. Since the treaty did not itemize the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands as appertaining to Formosa, it is doubtful whether China ceded the rights to the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands to Japan.

Issued in 1943, before the end of World War II, the Cairo Declaration called for Japan to retreat from all the captured Chinese territories. Similarly, Potsdam Declaration, initiated by the US, China and the UK in 1945, mitigated the Japanese sovereignty to only a few major archipelagos and suggested that the issuing states would determine the future of the other small islands. Both of these declarations make obscure statements about the territories from which Japan should withdraw. Therefore it is quite superficial to regard the disputed Senkaku/ Diaoyu Islands as a part of the territories specified by the declarations.

Following the end of World War II, Japan and the USA signed San Francisco Treaty that put all islands pertaining to island of Formosa under the US administration. Much like the previous treaties and declaration, San Francisco Treaty did not explicitly designate the appertaining islands.

Having gained control over the some Japanese territories with the signing of San Francisco Treaty, the US Civil Administration of the Ryukyus decided to settle a precise boundary. The newly defined boundary destroyed all the ambiguity of the situation of Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands as the boundary was said to include the disputed region as well.

After almost 20 years of US administration, the islands stated in San Francisco Treaty were returned to Japan with the signing of Okinawa Reversion Treaty. During the time of discussion leading to the creation of Okinawa Treaty, a couple of US officials claimed that the Senkaku/ Diaoyu Islands were understood to be included within the boundaries recognized by USCAR 27 in 1953. Therefore the it seems like Japan retrieved the administration of the conflicted region in under the terms documented by Okinawa Reversion Treaty.

Japan and the US signed the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation And Security Between Japan and The Unites States of America in 1961 to bolster military cooperation between the two allies. This treaty is extremely crucial for the disagreement regarding the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands because it binds the US to help its ally Japan in the event of a possible military conflict.

Although the question of Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands has its origins in the late 19^th century, the issue has not intensified until 2012. Therefore, there is almost no attempt made to settle the dispute. It is true that the international community overtly expressed its concern for the eruption of military conflict in the region but no state has taken an action to tackle the question. Only one document, issued in 1978, the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and China, tried to alleviate the tensions within the region. Nevertheless, considering the broad scope of the treaty in mind, the treaty neither focuses on the issue nor proposes any viable methods to end the conflict. Instead of putting strong emphasis on the question of Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, the treaty, which marks the normalization of bilateral relations between China and Japan, shelved the dispute for future resolutions. Furthermore, in order to solve the issue of overlapping EEZs in the East China Sea the two countries agreed to execute a plan named Joint Development of the East China sea and aimed to cooperatively exploit the Chunxiao gas field, located near the islands. However, they have never been able to implement the plan.

Keeping the lack of solution attempts in mind, as an initial step international community should try to convince not only China and Japan but also Taiwan to begin conducting peace talks which will be solely focused on the territorial dispute and its features. The organizational details of the talks should be defined explicitly in order to ensure that the talks and the resolutions found are fully implemented. A relatively flexible timetable can be executed. The parties of the talks does not have to be limited to involved countries, states which has unbiased policies could also be included. More importantly, as the dispute has many aspects including militarization and the exploitation of natural resources the talks should address not only the territorial question but also its smaller contents.