"Whatever the reasons for holding on to the Diaoyutais, Japan's claim to ownership is weak. There are books, reports and maps from the 15th century, during the period of the Ming Dynasty, that establish in no uncertain terms that the Diaoyutais are Chinese territory. The books “Voyage with a Tail Wind” and “The Record of the Imperial Envoy's Visit to Ryukyu” bear testimony to this. Even writings by Japanese scholars in the late 19th century acknowledged this fact.
The challenge to Chinese ownership of the Diaoyutais came from Japanese annexation of the islands in 1894-95 following the first Sino-Japanese War. China under the Qing Dynasty was too weak to fight back and regain lost territory. But annexation through military force does not confer legitimacy upon the act of conquest.
This is why when Japan was defeated in World War II the victors, who included China and the U.S., recognized that the Diaoyutais were Chinese territory. Both the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Declaration acknowledged this though for administrative purposes the Diaoyutais were placed under U.S. control as part of its governance over the Ryukyu Islands. The U.S. was then the occupying power in Japan following the latter's surrender.
However, when China was taken over by the Chinese Communist Party in 1949, the U.S. changed its position and began to treat the islands as part of Japan. The Chinese Communist leadership protested vehemently. In 1971, the U.S. Senate returned the Diaoyutai Islands, together with Okinawa, to Japan under the Okinawa Reversion Treaty. Again, the Chinese government in Beijing objected, as did the Taiwan government which also regards the islands as part of China.
Since the normalization of relations between China and Japan in 1972, both sides have agreed to allow their fisher folk to operate in the waters surrounding the islands without resolving the issue of ownership. Of course, neither China nor Japan has relinquished even an iota of its claims in the last 40 years. Recent incidents have however forced this unresolved issue into the open.
Now Japan “nationalized” the ownership of the islands. Japan now unilaterally claims the ownership of the islands. Japan is acting tough and won’t back down. Japan is arresting fishing boats from China and Taiwan. Japan broke the status quo (ownership is in dispute). Status quo can’t not be broken !!! In Chinese eyes, this is Japanese aggression. Japan has action, China will have reaction. There is Japanese attack, there will be Chinese counterattack.” |