Senkaku Islands dispute - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Senkaku Islands dispute concerns a territorial dispute on a group of uninhabited islands

Desert island

A desert island or uninhabited island is an island that has yet to be populated by humans. Uninhabited islands are often used in movies or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereotypes for the idea of "paradise". Some uninhabited islands are protected as nature reserves and...

, the Senkaku Islands

Senkaku Islands

The , also known as the Diaoyu Islands or Diaoyutai Islands or the Pinnacle Islands, are a group of disputed uninhabited islands in the East China Sea...

, which are also known as the Diaoyu or Diaoyutai Islands. These disputed islands are currently controlled and administered by Japan, and claimed by both the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

and the Republic of China

Republic of China

The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

(Taiwan). The United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

occupied the islands from 1945 to 1972 and holds a neutral stance on the dispute. The controversial diplomatic issues of sovereignty are marked by a complex array of economic and political considerations and consequences.

The islands

The Senkaku Islands are located in the East China Sea

East China Sea

The East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km² or 750,000 square miles.-Geography:...

between the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China and Japan. It contains five uninhabited islands and three barren rocks, ranging in size from 0.0008 km² to 4.32 km².

Beginnings

Following the Meiji Restoration

Meiji Restoration

The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...

, the Meiji Japanese government formally annexed what was known as the Ryukyu Kingdom

Ryukyu Kingdom

The Ryūkyū Kingdom was an independent kingdom which ruled most of the Ryukyu Islands from the 15th century to the 19th century. The Kings of Ryūkyū unified Okinawa Island and extended the kingdom to the Amami Islands in modern-day Kagoshima Prefecture, and the Sakishima Islands near Taiwan...

as Okinawa Prefecture in 1879. The Senkaku Islands, which lie between Ryukyu Kingdom

Ryukyu Kingdom

and Qing empire, became the Sino-Japanese boundary for the first time.

In 1885, the Japanese Governor of Okinawa Prefecture, Nishimura Sutezo, petitioned the Meiji government asking that it take formal control of the islands. However, Inoue Kaoru

Inoue Kaoru

Count , GCMG was a member of the Meiji oligarchy during the Meiji period Empire of Japan. As one of the senior statesman in Japan during that period, he had a tremendous influence on the selection of the nation's leaders and formation of its policies.-Early years:...

, the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, commented that the islands lay near to the border area with the Qing empire and that they had been given Chinese names. He also cited an article in a Chinese newspaper that had previously claimed that Japan was occupying islands off China's coast. Inoue was concerned that if Japan proceeded to erect a landmark stating its claim to the islands, it would make the Qing empire suspicious. Following Inoue's advice, Yamagata Aritomo

Yamagata Aritomo

Field Marshal Prince , also known as Yamagata Kyōsuke, was a field marshal in the Imperial Japanese Army and twice Prime Minister of Japan. He is considered one of the architects of the military and political foundations of early modern Japan. Yamagata Aritomo can be seen as the father of Japanese...

, the Minister of the Interior turned down the request to incorporate the islands, insisting that this matter should not be "revealed to the news media".

On 14 January 1895, during the Sino-Japanese War

Sino-Japanese War

There were two wars known as the Sino-Japanese War :* The First Sino-Japanese War between China and Japan , primarily over control of Korea....

, Japan incorporated the islands under the administration of Okinawa, stating that it had conducted surveys since 1884 and that the islands were terra nullius
Terra nullius
Terra nullius is a Latin expression deriving from Roman law meaning "land belonging to no one" , which is used in international law to describe territory which has never been subject to the sovereignty of any state, or over which any prior sovereign has expressly or implicitly relinquished...

(Latin: no man's land), with there being no evidence to suggest that they had been under Qing empire's control.

After China lost the war, both countries signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki

Treaty of Shimonoseki

The Treaty of Shimonoseki , known as the Treaty of Maguan in China, was signed at the Shunpanrō hall on April 17, 1895, between the Empire of Japan and Qing Empire of China, ending the First Sino-Japanese War. The peace conference took place from March 20 to April 17, 1895...

in April 1895 that stipulated, among other things, that China would cede to Japan "the island of Formosa together with all islands appertaining or belonging to said island of Formosa

Formosa

Formosa or Ilha Formosa is a Portuguese historical name for Taiwan , literally meaning, "Beautiful Island". The term may also refer to:-Places:* Formosa Strait, another name for the Taiwan Strait...

(Taiwan)".

The treaty

Treaty of Shimonoseki

, however, was nullified after Japan lost the Second world war in 1945 by the Treaty of San Francisco

Treaty of San Francisco

The Treaty of Peace with Japan , between Japan and part of the Allied Powers, was officially signed by 48 nations on September 8, 1951, at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, California...

, which was signed between Japan and part of the Allied Powers in 1951. The document nullifies prior treaties and lays down the framework for Japan's current status of retaining a military that is purely defensive in nature.

There is a disagreement between the Japanese, PRC and ROC governments as to whether the islands are implied to be part of the "islands appertaining or belonging to said island of Formosa" in the Treaty of Shimonoseki. The Japanese government argues that the disputed islands were terra nullius and not implied to be part of the "islands appertaining or belonging to said island of Formosa" but China and Taiwan both dispute the claim by citing Yamagata Aritomo

Yamagata Aritomo

's reasons and decisions to turn down the request to incorporate the islands in 1885.

In 1969, the US expressed its intention to end the formal period of post-war occupation of Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, which meant ceding a number of islands including the disputed islands to Japan. Both PRC and ROC asserted sovereignty over the islands. The ROC made an official announcement on 11 June 1971. The PRC officially announced its position on 30 December 1971.

On May 15, 1972, the United States ended its occupation of Okinawa and the Ryukyu Island chain, which includes the Senkaku Islands.

Arguments from PRC and ROC

The two governments of China argue that the sovereignty dispute is a legacy of Japanese invasion of China and complicated by the civil war between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Kuomintang (KMT) over control of China. The PRC's and ROC's claims include the following arguments:

The islands were China's frontier off-shore defence against wokou
Wokou
Wokou , which literally translates as "Japanese pirates" in English, were pirates of varying origins who raided the coastlines of China and Korea from the 13th century onwards...

(Japanese pirates) during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911). A Chinese map of Asia, as well as a map compiled by a Japanese cartographer in the 18th century, shows the islands as a part of China.
Japan took control of the islands during the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894-1895, to whom they were formally ceded by the Treaty of Shimonoseki
Treaty of Shimonoseki
The Treaty of Shimonoseki , known as the Treaty of Maguan in China, was signed at the Shunpanrō hall on April 17, 1895, between the Empire of Japan and Qing Empire of China, ending the First Sino-Japanese War. The peace conference took place from March 20 to April 17, 1895...

. The letter of the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1885, rejecting the annexation of the islands in the worry of raising China's suspicion, shows that Japan knew the islands were not terra nullius.
The Potsdam Declaration
Potsdam Declaration
The Potsdam Declaration or the Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender is a statement calling for the Surrender of Japan in World War II. On July 26, 1945, United States President Harry S...

stated that "Japanese sovereignty shall be limited to the islands of Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū, Shikoku and such minor islands as we determine", and "we" referred to the victors of WWII who met at Potsdam, the USA, UK and Republic of China. Japan accepted the terms of the Declaration when it surrendered.
Both the PRC and ROC governments never endorsed the transfer of control of the islands to Japan in 1970s.

According to Chinese claims, the islands, known to China at least since 1372, had been repeatedly referred to as part of Chinese territory since 1534, and later controlled by the Qing Dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

along with Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

. The earliest written record of Diaoyutai dates back to 1403 in a Chinese book Voyage with the Tail Wind (:zh:順風相送), which recorded the names of the islands that voyagers had passed on a trip from Fujian

Fujian

' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...

to the Ryukyu Kingdom

Ryukyu Kingdom

.

By 1534, all the major islets of the island group were identified and named in the book Record of the Imperial Envoy's Visit to Ryukyu (使琉球錄). and were the Ming Dynasty

Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

(the 16th century) 's sea-defense frontier.
One of the islands, Chihweiyu, marked the boundary of the Ryukyu Islands. This is viewed by the PRC and ROC as meaning that these islands did not belong to the Ryukyu Islands.

The First Sino-Japanese War

First Sino-Japanese War

The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea...

broke out in 1894. After the Qing dynasty of China lost the war, both countries signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki

Treaty of Shimonoseki

on 17 April 1895. In Article 2(b) the Treaty

Unequal Treaties

“Unequal treaty” is a term used in specific reference to a number of treaties imposed by Western powers, during the 19th and early 20th centuries, on Qing Dynasty China and late Tokugawa Japan...

stated that "the island of Formosa, together with all islands appertaining or belonging to the said island of Formosa" should be ceded to Japan. Although the Treaty did not specifically name every ceded island, the PRC and ROC argue that Japan did not include the islands as part of Okinawa Prefecture prior to 1894, and that the eventual inclusion occurred only as a consequence of China's cession of Taiwan and the Pescadores to Japan after the Sino-Japanese War.

The Japanese government argues that the islands were not ceded by this treaty but the claim is disputed by Chinese governments, quoting the documents of Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1884. In that year, the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs objected the annexation of those islands by stating that those islands were "near to the Qing (China)'s border", "had Chinese names", and Japanese activity "in the offshore's coast of Qing Dynasty had already raised the attention of Chinese newspapers and were warned by China". Following this advice, the Japanese interior minister, Yamagata Aritomo

Yamagata Aritomo

, turned down the request for incorporating those islands into Japanese territory. The Chinese governments see it as an evidence to disprove Japanese claim that those islands were terra nullius when they decided to incorporate them in 1895.

The Japanese government kept postponing the issue and it was only in 1895, when Japan's victory in the Sino-Japanese War was manifested, that the application was finally accepted in a Cabinet meeting. They also claim that the Japanese reference to these islands did not appear in Japanese government documents before 1884.

After the World War II, there was renewed civil war between the Chinese Communist Party and Kuomintang. The two parties formed competing governments, the PRC and ROC respectively. Both governments held undefined positions on the sovereignty and administration on the islands until 1971, when the U.S. expressed its intention to hand over the islands to Japan. Both the PRC and ROC governments protested and claimed sovereignty over the islands as a part of Taiwan.

The PRC and ROC governments claim that during negotiations with China over the Ryukyu Islands after the First Sino-Japanese War, the islands were not mentioned at all in a partition plan suggested by US ex-President Grant. The lease of the islands in 1896 and subsequent purchase in 1930 by the Koga family were merely domestic arrangements made by the Japanese government which had no bearing on the legal status of the islands."

China has protested since the US announced the Okinawa reversion in 1971.

Arguments from Japan

The Japanese stance is that there is no territorial issue that needs to be resolved over the Senkaku. It has stated the following points as claim for the islands and counter-argument against China's claim.

The islands had been uninhabited and showed no trace of having been under the control of China prior to 1895.
The islands were neither part of Taiwan nor part of the Pescadores Islands, which were ceded to Japan by the Qing Dynasty of China in Article II of the May 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki, thus were not later renounced by Japan under Article II of the San Francisco Peace Treaty.
Though the islands were controlled by the United States as an occupying power between 1945 and 1972, Japan has since 1972 exercised administration over the islands. The PRC and ROC (Taiwan) have come to claim the sovereignty since a submarine oil field was discovered near these islands.

During a private visit 9 years after stepping down from office, former President of Republic of China, Lee Teng-hui

Lee Teng-hui

Lee Teng-hui is a politician of the Republic of China . He was the 7th, 8th, and 9th-term President of the Republic of China and Chairman of the Kuomintang from 1988 to 2000. He presided over major advancements in democratic reforms including his own re-election which marked the first direct...

, once said that the Senkaku Islands are part of Okinawa.

After the Meiji Restoration

Meiji Restoration

The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...

, the Japanese government conducted surveys of the islands beginning in 1885, which found that the islands were terra nullius and that there was no evidence to suggest that they had ever been under Chinese control. At the time of this survey, however, Yamagata Aritomo

Yamagata Aritomo

, the minister of interior of the Meji government, put off the request to incorporate the islands, saying that those islands lay near the Sino-Japanese boundary and already had Chinese names.

On 14 January 1895, Japan incorporated the islands into its territory, during the First Sino-Japanese War

First Sino-Japanese War

The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea...

, three months after its military victory and three months before the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki

Treaty of Shimonoseki

. Japan erected a marker on Kubajima and Uotsurijima to incorporate them as its territory. This decision was publicized in 1950. Four of the islands were subsequently developed by Koga Tatsushirō (古賀辰四郎) and his family, with the permission of the Japanese government.

Japan claims that neither China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

nor Ryukyu

Ryukyu Kingdom

had recognized sovereignty over the uninhabited islands. Therefore, they claim that Chinese documents only prove that Kumejima, the first inhabited island reached by the Chinese, belonged to Okinawa. Kentaro Serita (芹田健太郎) of Kobe University points out that the official history book of the Ming Dynasty compiled during the Qing Dynasty, called the History of Ming
History of Ming
The History of Ming is one of the official Chinese historical works known as the Twenty-Four Histories of China. It consists of 332 volumes and covers the history of Ming Dynasty from 1368 to 1644, which was written by a number of officials commissioned by the court of Qing Dynasty, with the lead...

(明史), describes Taiwan in its "Biographies of Foreign Countries" (外国列传) section. Thus, China did not control the Senkaku Islands or Taiwan during the Ming Dynasty. The contrary viewpoint is that this evidence goes only to verify that the early Qing Dynasty (which compiled the book) saw Taiwan and its surrounding islands as outside its territory. For 39 years between the end of the Ming Dynasty

Ming Dynasty

and the conquest of Taiwan by the Qing Dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

, Taiwan was ruled by a separate regime, the Kingdom of Tungning

Kingdom of Tungning

The Kingdom of Tungning was a government that ruled Taiwan between 1661 and 1683. A pro-Ming Dynasty state, it was founded by Koxinga after the Ming government in mainland China was replaced by the Manchu-ruled Qing Dynasty...

, which swore loyalty to the Ming. Such evidence is thus not relevant to the Qing Dynasty's attitude towards the islands after its conquest of Taiwan.
After a number of Chinese were rescued from a shipwreck in 1920, a letter purportedly sent to Japanese fishermen by the Chinese Consul Feng Mien (冯冕/馮冕) in Nagasaki

Nagasaki

is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Nagasaki was founded by the Portuguese in the second half of the 16th century on the site of a small fishing village, formerly part of Nishisonogi District...

on behalf of the Republic of China

Beiyang Government

The Beiyang government or warlord government collectively refers to a series of military regimes that ruled from Beijing from 1912 to 1928 at Zhongnanhai. It was internationally recognized as the legitimate Government of the Republic of China. The name comes from the Beiyang Army which dominated...

(中華民國) on May 20, 1921, reference was made to "Senkaku Islands, Yaeyama District, Okinawa Prefecture

Okinawa Prefecture

is one of Japan's southern prefectures. It consists of hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain over long, which extends southwest from Kyūshū to Taiwan. Okinawa's capital, Naha, is located in the southern part of Okinawa Island...

, the Empire of Japan". The letter is on exhibition at Yaeyama

Yaeyama

Yaeyama may refer to:* Yaeyama Islands, an archipelago in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan* Yaeyama District, Okinawa, an administrative division covering most of the Yaeyama Islands* Yaeyama language, a language spoken in the Yaeyama Islands...

museum.
The People's Daily, a daily newspaper, which is the organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), had written that Senkaku islands is the part of Japanese territory in 1953.

The Washington Times claimed that they obtained a classified map made by the PRC's map authority in 1969 apparently listing the "Senkaku Islands" as Japanese territory.

A World Atlas published in October 1965 by the National Defense Research Academy and the China Geological Research Institute of Taiwan records the Diaoyu Islands with Japanese names: Gyochojima (Diaoyu Islands), Taishojima (Chiwei Island), and Senkaku Gunto. In the late 1970s, the government of ROC began to recall these books, but it was too late.

A world atlas published in November 1958, by the Map Publishing Company of Beijing, treats the Senkaku Islands as a Japanese territory. A state-prescribed textbook published in 1970 in Taiwan treated the islands as Japanese territories.

After World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the islands came under the United States occupation of Okinawa. During this period, the United States and the Ryūkyū Government administered the islands and the US Navy used Kuba-jima and Taisho-jima as maneuver areas.

In 1972, sovereignty over Okinawa, and arguably the surrounding islands, was handed back to Japan as the United States Military Government terminated its jurisdiction over territories originally specified in Article 3 of the Treaty of San Francisco

Treaty of San Francisco

The Treaty of Peace with Japan , between Japan and part of the Allied Powers, was officially signed by 48 nations on September 8, 1951, at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, California...

.

From 1895 to 1940, there was a Katsuobushi (fish flakes) factory and about 200 Japanese residents on the islands. In 1978, a Japanese nationalist group, Nihonseinensha built a lighthouse on Uotsuri Jima, which was subsequently handed over to the Japanese government in 2005.

Alternate approaches

When PRC-Japan diplomatic relations were established in 1972, both nations found reasons to set aside this territorial dispute. According to negotiator Deng Xiaoping

Deng Xiaoping

Deng Xiaoping was a Chinese politician, statesman, and diplomat. As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng was a reformer who led China towards a market economy...

, "It does not matter if this question is shelved for some time, say, 10 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."

In 1969, the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific , located in Bangkok, Thailand, is the regional arm of the United Nations Secretariat for the Asian and Pacific region. It was established in 1947 to encourage economic cooperation among its member states...

(ECAFE) identified potential oil and gas reserves in the vicinity of the Senkaku Islands. During subsequent decades, several rounds of bilateral talks considered joint-development of sub-seabed resources in disputed territorial waters. Such efforts to develop a cooperative strategy were unsuccessful.

In 2008, a preliminary agreement on joint development of resources has been reached but the agreement only includes the area far from these islands.

Disputes about the causes

There are disputes about the causes of controversy involving the Senkaku Islands. For example, some use the term "territorial dispute"; however, the Japanese government has consistently rejected this framing

Framing (social sciences)

A frame in social theory consists of a schema of interpretation — that is, a collection of anecdotes and stereotypes—that individuals rely on to understand and respond to events. In simpler terms, people build a series of mental filters through biological and cultural influences. They use these...

since the early 1970s. An analysis of incidents and issues require distinguishing between disputes which are primarily over territory and those which merely have a territorial component.
Other nations are closely monitoring developments , e.g.,

Senkakus described as a proxy
Proxy war
A proxy war or proxy warfare is a war that results when opposing powers use third parties as substitutes for fighting each other directly. While powers have sometimes used governments as proxies, violent non-state actors, mercenaries, or other third parties are more often employed...

. According to China Daily, the Senkaku Islands are a disruptive mine planted by the United States into Sino-Japanese relations.
Senkakus characterized as a pretext
Pretext
A pretext is an excuse to do something or say something. Pretexts may be based on a half-truth or developed in the context of a misleading fabrication. Pretexts have been used to conceal the true purpose or rationale behind actions and words....

. According to the New York Times, some analysts frame all discussion about the islands' status within a broader pattern of Chinese territorial assertions.
Senkakus identified as a tactic
Tactic
Tactic may refer to:*Military tactics*Chess tactic*Tactic , a municipality in the Guatemalan department of Alta Verapaz*Tactics , an Australian band*Tactics , a Japanese visual novel studio*TACTIC , a U.S...

. According to the Christian Science Monitor, the Senkakus may represent a tactical distraction from China's internal power struggle over who will replace the current leadership of the Communist Party in 2012.

The historical record is a backdrop for each new incident in the unfolding chronology of these islands.

Historical development

1532: On the 8th of the 5th month (lunar calendar), Chen Kan, leading the envoy on behalf of the emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China to Ryukyu, recorded the islands as landmarks en route.
1561: Ming envoy Kuo Ju-lin, following Chen Kan, set sail from Fuzhou on the 29th of the 5th month and recorded passing the islands as landmarks.
1785: A Japanese map by Hayashi Shihei
Hayashi Shihei
was a Japanese military scholar and a retainer of the Sendai Domain.His name is sometimes misread as Rin Shihei....

indicated the islands in the same color of that of China, and different from that of Ryukyu. (See "Arguments from PRC and ROC" for more information).
1879: Ryukyu was officially annexed by Japan as the Okinawa Prefecture.
1885: Japan began survey on the islands.
1895: Japan claimed the islands were terra nullius in the middle of the First Sino-Japanese war and annexed the islands. 3 months later, the Treaty of Shimonoseki
Treaty of Shimonoseki
The Treaty of Shimonoseki , known as the Treaty of Maguan in China, was signed at the Shunpanrō hall on April 17, 1895, between the Empire of Japan and Qing Empire of China, ending the First Sino-Japanese War. The peace conference took place from March 20 to April 17, 1895...

was signed by China and Japan.
1900: The name Senkaku was first mentioned in Japanese literatures, a translation of Pinnacles.
1909: Japanese population of the islands became 248."
1945: US controlled the islands after Japan surrendered
1970: A Taiwanese reporter of the China Times landed and hanged the national flag of Republic of China.
December 1971: The People's Republic of China (PRC) first officially claimed (via People's Daily) sovereignty when Japan made known its official standpoint with the signing of the Okinawa Reversion Treaty.
1972: The US returned the islands to Japan as part of Okinawa.
1978: The Japan Youth Association set up a lighthouse on the main island.
14 July 1996: The Japan Youth Association built a 5 m high, solar-powered, aluminum lighthouse on another island.
14 September 1996: the U.S. State Department spokesman reiterated its neutral position on the sovereignty dispute between Japan and China.
26 September 1996: David Chan, a Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

protester, drowned near the islets, after leaping off one of the protest vessels with several companions with the object of symbolizing Chinese claim of sovereignty.
7 October 1996: Protesters plant the flags of the ROC
Flag of the Republic of China
The Flag of the Republic of China is red with a navy blue canton bearing a white sun with 12 triangular rays. In Chinese, the flag is commonly described as Blue Sky, White Sun, and a Wholly Red Earth to reflect its attributes....

and the PRC
Flag of the People's Republic of China
The flag of the People's Republic of China is a red field charged in the canton with five golden stars. The design features one large star, with four smaller stars in a semicircle set off towards the fly...

on the main island. It was later removed by the Japanese.
9 April 1999: The U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas S. Foley said "we are not, as far as I understand, taking a specific position in the dispute.... we do not assume that there will be any reason to engage the security treaty in any immediate sense."
20 April 2000: Senkaku Shinto shrine
Senkaku Jinja
is a Shinto shrine located on Uotsuri-jima in the Senkaku Islands, Japan. The shrine is dedicated to Amaterasu.The shrine was founded on April 20, 2000 and serves to pray for the safe passage of all boats through the Senkaku Islands and the East China Sea...

was established on Uotsuri Jima/Diaoyudao.
April 2002: The Japanese government leased Uotsuri and other islands from their private owners.
24 March 2004: A group of Chinese activists from the PRC planned to stay on the Islands for three days. The seven people who landed on the islands were arrested by the Japanese for illegal entry
Illegal entry
Illegal entry is the act of foreign nationals arriving in or crossing the borders into a country in violation of its immigration law.Migrants from nations that do not have automatic visa agreements, or who would not otherwise qualify for a visa, often cross the borders illegally in some areas like...

. The Japanese Foreign Ministry made a complaint to the PRC government, and the PRC demanded the release of the activists. They were sent to Japan and deported from there. Japan subsequently stated that it would prohibit anybody from landing on the islands without prior permission.
24 March 2004: Adam Ereli, deputy spokesman at the U.S. State Department said "the U.S. does not take a position on the question of the ultimate sovereignty of the Senkaku Diaoyu Islands."
February 2005: Japan planned to take ownership of a privately-owned lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....

on Uotsuri, after it was offered to them by the owner, a fisherman living on Ishigaki, Okinawa
Ishigaki, Okinawa
Ishigaki is an island west of Okinawa Hontō and the second-largest island of the Yaeyama Island group. It is within the City of Ishigaki in Okinawa Prefecture. The city functions as the business and transport center of the archipelago...

. The lighthouse is expected to be managed by the Japanese Coast Guard.
23 April 2004: a member of a Japanese right-wing group rammed a bus into the Chinese consulate in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

, to protest Chinese claims.
July 2004: Japan started exploring for natural gas in what it considers its own exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea as a step to counter China's building of a natural gas complex nearby. Japan plans to survey a 30-kilometer-wide band stretching between latitudes 28
28th parallel north
The 28th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 28 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America and the Atlantic Ocean....

and 30 degrees
30th parallel north
The 30th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 30 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It stands one-third of the way between the equator and the North Pole and crosses Africa, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America and the Atlantic Ocean....

North, just inside the border demarcated by Japan. China disputes Japan's rights to explore the area east of the median line between the two countries, which Japan has proposed as the demarcation line for their exclusive economic zones.
July 2004: a group of Chinese held a demonstration outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing afternoon to protest Japan's "illegal" oil exploration activities in a disputed area of the East China Sea. The protesters, organized by Beijing-based organization called the Patriots Alliance Network.
10 February 2005: On Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...

, the U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton said that Japan's new assertiveness is in line with the desires of many Japanese politicians to take their country beyond its post-World War Two reliance on the United States. "It's a question of the evolution of Japanese thinking on its own. Japan has made it clear they want to resolve all of the territorial disputes by diplomatic means and that's certainly something that we agree with. Our kind of getting in the middle of it is probably not the most productive way to proceed."
June 2005: The ROC dispatched a ROCN
Republic of China Navy
The Republic of China Navy is the maritime branch of the Armed forces of the Republic of China . The ROC Navy's primary mission is to defend ROC territories and the sea lanes that surround Taiwan against a blockade, attack, or possible invasion by forces of the People's Republic of China...

frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...

near to the disputed waters after Taiwanese fishing vessels were harassed by Japanese patrol boats. The frigate, which was carrying Legislative Yuan President Wang Jin-pyng
Wang Jin-pyng
Wang Jin-pyng , Taiwan, Empire of Japan), Taiwanese politician, is the President of the Legislative Yuan. As one of the leading figures of the Kuomintang, Wang is considered to be soft-spoken and a conciliatory figure.-Early life:...

and ROC Defense Minister Lee Jye
Lee Jye
Lee Jye is a former defense minister of the Republic of China .-Biography:He was born in Tianjin on June 6, 1940, and fled to Taiwan with family at the end of the Chinese Civil War....

, was not challenged and returned to Taiwan without incident. Fisheries talks between Taipei and Tokyo were held in July, but did not cover sovereignty issues.
17 March 2006: Kyodo News
Kyodo News
is a nonprofit cooperative news agency based in Minato, Tokyo. It was established in November 1945 and it distributes news to almost all newspapers, and radio and television networks in Japan. The newspapers using its news have about 50 million subscribers. K. K. Kyodo News is Kyodo News' business...

reported the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Thomas Schieffer
Tom Schieffer
John Thomas Schieffer, known as Tom Schieffer , is an American diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador to Japan from 2005 to 2009 and as U.S. Ambassador to Australia from 2001 to 2005. Schieffer is a friend and former business partner of President George W. Bush. He is the younger brother of Bob...

, presented that he considered "the Islands as territory of Japan" in his talk in Tokyo.
27 October 2006: A group of activists from the Hong Kong-based Action Committee for Defending the Diaoyu Islands
Action Committee for Defending the Diaoyu Islands
Action Committee for Defending the Diaoyu Islands is a Hong Kong-based activist organisation that asserts Chinese sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands. The territorial right to the islands is disputed between the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China, and Japan, who currently controls...

approached the islands to show the support for Chinese claims to the Diaoyu Islands. They were stopped from landing on the islands by the Japan Coast Guard. Later on, the PLAN
People's Liberation Army Navy
The People's Liberation Army Navy is the naval branch of the People's Liberation Army , the military of the People's Republic of China. Until the early 1990s, the navy performed a subordinate role to the PLA Land Forces. Since then, it has undergone rapid modernisation...

conducted a military exercise in the area.

2008

16 April 2008: two PLAAF J-10A multi-role fighter peremptorily intercepted a Japanese P-3C anti-submarine and reconnaissance airplane that was flying closely above the Senkaku Islands. The two J-10 fighters were suspected of protecting Chinese nuclear submarines that were operating in that area.
8 September 2008: Two Chinese coast guard vessels started routine patrol within 12 kilometers of Senkaku Islands in order to declare the Senkaku Islands as Chinese territory.
10 June 2008: The 270 ton sport fishing vessel Lien Ho (聯合號) of Taiwan suffered a collision with the Japanese patrol vessel Koshiki. The vessel sank while in the disputed territorial waters that have been claimed by Japan and Taiwan (ROC). The Taiwanese crew who were aboard the vessel claims that the larger Japanese frigate deliberately crashed into them; their assertions are backed up by recently released video footage. Japanese coast guard initially claimed that the Taiwanese boat had crashed into the patrol ship. While releasing the passengers, Japan initially detained the captain and sought reparations.
13 June 2008: The captain was released.
16 June 2008: A boat carrying activists from Taiwan, defended by five Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

Coast Guard vessels, approached to within 0.4 nautical miles (740.8 m) of the main island, from which position they circumnavigated the island in an assertion of sovereignty of the islands. This demonstration has prompted Taiwanese politicians to cancel a planned trip on-board Republic of China Navy
Republic of China Navy
The Republic of China Navy is the maritime branch of the Armed forces of the Republic of China . The ROC Navy's primary mission is to defend ROC territories and the sea lanes that surround Taiwan against a blockade, attack, or possible invasion by forces of the People's Republic of China...

vessels to demonstrate sovereignty. The Taiwanese vessels were followed by Japanese Coast Guard vessels, but no attempt was made to intercept them.
20 June 2008: Upon releasing the video taken by people on board the Taiwanese boat, Japan had apologized for the incident and agreed to pay NT$10 million (US$311,000) as compensation to the owner of the boat. Liu Chao-shiuan
Liu Chao-shiuan
Liu Chao-shiuan is a Taiwanese educator and politician. He is a former president of the National Tsing Hua University and Soochow University and a former Premier of the Republic of China.-Biography:...

, Premier of the Republic of China
Premier of the Republic of China
The President of the Executive Yuan , commonly known as the Premier of the Republic of China , is the head of the Executive Yuan, the executive branch of the Republic of China , which currently administers Taiwan, Matsu, and Kinmen. The premier is appointed by the President of the Republic of China...

, has refused to rule out the use of force to defend the islands against Japanese advances. The ROC government recalled its chief representative to Japan in protest. On June 20, the de-facto Japanese ambassador to Taiwan apologized, in person, to the captain of the Taiwanese boat Lien Ho.

2010

7 September 2010: A Chinese fishing trawler collided
2010 Senkaku boat collision incident
The 2010 Senkaku Boat Collision Incident occurred on the morning of September 7 2010 when a Chinese trawler, Minjinyu 5179, operating in disputed waters collided with Japanese Coast Guard's patrol boats near the Senkaku Islands...

with two Japanese Coast Guard patrol boats in disputed waters near the islands. The collisions occurred after the Japanese Coast Guard ordered the trawler to leave the area. After the collisions, Japanese sailors boarded the Chinese vessel and arrested the captain Zhan Qixiong.
18 September 2010: 79th anniversary of the Mukden Incident
Mukden Incident
The Mukden Incident, also known as the Manchurian Incident, was a staged event that was engineered by Japanese military personnel as a pretext for invading the northern part of China known as Manchuria in 1931....

, widespread anti-Japanese
Anti-Japanese sentiment
Anti-Japanese sentiment involves hatred, grievance, distrust, dehumanization, intimidation, fear, hostility, and/or general dislike of the Japanese people and Japanese diaspora as ethnic or national group, Japan, Japanese culture, and/or anything Japanese. Sometimes the terms Japanophobia and...

protests held in Beijing, Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

, Shenzhen
Shenzhen
Shenzhen is a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province, situated immediately north of Hong Kong. The area became China's first—and one of the most successful—Special Economic Zones...

, Hong Kong and Shenyang
Shenyang
Shenyang , or Mukden , is the capital and largest city of Liaoning Province in Northeast China. Currently holding sub-provincial administrative status, the city was once known as Shengjing or Fengtianfu...

.
22 September 2010: Chinese premier Wen Jiabao
Wen Jiabao
Wen Jiabao is the sixth and current Premier and Party secretary of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, serving as China's head of government and leading its cabinet. In his capacity as Premier, Wen is regarded as the leading figure behind China's economic policy...

threatened further action if the captain of the Chinese fishing trawler were not released.
24 September 2010: Japan released the Chinese captain, stating keeping the captain in custody would not be appropriate and raised considerable impact on the Sino-Japan relation.
25 September 2010: China demanded an apology and compensation from Japan for holding the Chinese boat captain in the collision incident. Japan rejected the Chinese demand.
27 September 2010: Japan said they would counter-claim against China for damage to their patrol boats in the collision.
2 October 2010: Large scale anti-Chinese protests occurred in Tokyo and six other cities in Japan.
3 October 2010: A group of right wing Japanese protesters marched to the Ikebukuro mall specializing in Chinese food demanding to guard the islands against the Chinese.
6 October 2010: Joint USA/Japan drill is planned on defending the Okinawa in December but Japanese Prime Minister Kan Naoto told the parliament that the joint military exercise does not have the islands specifically in mind.
14 October 2010: Japan's Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara, along with other members of the LDP party filed a complaint against Google Maps
Google Maps
Google Maps is a web mapping service application and technology provided by Google, free , that powers many map-based services, including the Google Maps website, Google Ride Finder, Google Transit, and maps embedded on third-party websites via the Google Maps API...

demanding the removal of the Chinese name of Diaoyutai from the interactive map services. Google refused, stating that they wish to remain neutral.

2011

29 June 2011: A fishing boat from Taiwan, named "Tafa 268", with some activists aboard, navigated to waters some 23 nautical miles off the disputed Diaoyutai/Senkaku Islands in the morning. the Japanese coast guard immediately mobilized four patrol vessels to block the “Tafa 268”, and a Japanese helicopter was also dispatched to monitor the Taiwanese boat. The Coast Guard Agency (CGA) Keelung
Keelung
Keelung City is a major port city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. It borders New Taipei and forms the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area, along with the Taipei and New Taipei. Nicknamed the Rainy Port for its frequent rain and maritime role, the city is Taiwan's second largest seaport...

office of Taiwan had sent five patrol vessels to there and managed to break the Japanese blockade to sail close to the Taiwanese fishing boat. Both sides of coast guard vessels reiterated the disputed islands were their own territory but no collision happened, and "Tafa 268" set off for home escorted by the CGA vessels after a 25-minute standoff.

3~4 July 2011: Nine Japanese fishing boats, including one owned by a senior official of a Japanese nationalist group, were fishing near the islands. Beijing lodged a stern remonstration with Tokyo on July 4, 2011, over such Japanese fishing activities. Chinese Foreign Ministry demands that Japanese fishing vessels be immediately withdrawn. On July 3 morning, the Japan Coast Guard found that Chinese fishery patrol vessel “Fishery 201″ in waters near the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands. Japanese patrol vessels issued a waring “Do not enter Japanese territorial waters “. China “Fishery 201″ then responded that it was conducting legitimate task in that the waters around the Diaoyu Islands under the jurisdiction of China. Also on July 4, two Chinese military aircraft approached the disputed islands. When the planes came within 37 miles of the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands, the Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF) immediately scrambled an F-15 to intercept them.

November 2011: Apparently influenced by the dispute with China over the Senkakus, Japan vocally supported the United States at the November 2011 East Asia Summit in declaring that the South China Sea, much of which China claims, is under the jurisdiction of international maritime law and any disputes over the area must be resolved through multi-national cooperation and dialogue. China, in contrast, declared that any disputes over posession of the South China Sea should be resolved bilaterally, not through multi-nationational forums or talks.

November 2011: In advance of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda
Yoshihiko Noda
is the current Prime Minister of Japan, a member of the Democratic Party of Japan , and a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet...

's planned December 2011 state visit to the PRC, the PRC government requested that the two countries begin negotiations over national boundries in the East China Sea. According to Kyodo News
Kyodo News
is a nonprofit cooperative news agency based in Minato, Tokyo. It was established in November 1945 and it distributes news to almost all newspapers, and radio and television networks in Japan. The newspapers using its news have about 50 million subscribers. K. K. Kyodo News is Kyodo News' business...

, the proposal by China appeared to be an effort to get Japan to acknowledge that a territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands existed.

External links

Global Security, Senkaku/Diaoyutai Islands
Diaoyu Islands-China's Indisputable Territory.Foreign Affairs University
Basic View on Senkaku (by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Article by Kiyoshi Inoue Professor of History department Kyoto University, and original text and maps in Japanese
Senkaku @BBC
Law School Article by William Heflin
Diaoyutai History (in Chinese)
Satellite image of Senkaku Islands
Alexander M. Peterson's 2009 Note in the Cornell International Law Journal detailing the dispute, clarifying the legal impact of the 2008 Sino-Japanese arrangement to cooperate in the East China Sea, and proposing increased Sino-Japanese cooperation.
" The Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands Dispute:", Durham University
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...

, 2008. Dzurek, Daniel.
"INTERNATIONAL LAW'S UNHELPFUL ROLE IN THE SENKAKU ISLANDS:", University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

, 18 October 1996. Ramos-Mrosovsky, Carlos.

琉球群岛人民反对美国占领的斗争 "Ryukyu Islands, the struggle of peoples against U.S. occupation," 人民日報 (People's Daily), January 8, 1953.
- 琉球群島人民による反米闘争
"China's Diaoyu Islands Sovereignty is Undeniable" at People's Daily Online, May 26 2003.

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

The islands

Beginnings

Arguments from PRC and ROC

Arguments from Japan

Alternate approaches

Disputes about the causes

Historical development

2008

2010

2011

See also

External links