Wong

Kela Wong
JSIS 478 Geopolitics of Energy in East Asia
Professor Scott Montgomery
May 26, 2016
Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands Dispute
Eight small, uninhabited islands in the East China Seacalled Diaoyu by
China, Senkaku by Japan, and Diaoyutai by Taiwanare at the center of a territorial
dispute between the three states. 1 The conflict has historical roots and highly
political and economic facets. This paper will introduce the conflict, review the
assertions of involved parties, explore the issues surrounding the islands, and briefly
consider routes to resolution.
In a white paper published by the Chinese government in September 2012, China
described the islands as follows:
Diaoyu Dao and its affiliated islands, which consist of Diaoyu Dao, Huangwei
Yu, Chiwei Yu, Nanxiao Dao, Beixiao Dao, Nan Yu, Bei Yu, Fei Yu and other
islands and reefs, [] are affiliated to the Taiwan Island. [] Diaoyu Dao and
its affiliated islands are an inseparable part of the Chinese territory. Diaoyu
Dao is China's inherent territory in all historical, geographical and legal terms,
and China enjoys indisputable sovereignty over Diaoyu Dao. 2
Japan also named the islands and has laid claim to them:
The Senkaku Islands is the collective term that refers to a group of islands
that includes Uotsuri, Kitakojima, Minamikojima, Kuba, Taisho, Okinokitaiwa,
Okinominamiiwa, and Tosibe located at the west side of the Nansei Shoto
Islands. [] 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.3
The conflicting territorial claims of China and Japan over the islands are based
on separate concepts that trace back in history. 4 Japans main arguments to support
1 For the sake of length of this paper, I will focus on the dispute between China and Japan. I
have chosen to refer to the islands as the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands to acknowledge the two
main players in the territorial conflict.
2 Full Text: Diaoyu Dao, an Inherent Territory of China. Xinhua, September 25, 2012.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2012-09/25/c_131872152.htm.
3 Japans Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Senkaku Islands. March 2013.
http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/senkaku/pdfs/senkaku_en.pdf.
4 Reinhard Drifte, a professor of Japanese politics at the University of Newcastle, UK calls the
two foundations of the territorial claims on one side, China-dominated East Asian Order

Wong

their claims to sovereignty over the islands are that it incorporated the terra nullius5
island group in 1895 and occupied the islands since; the Shimonoseki Treaty, which
ended the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-5 and which China today considers an
unequal treaty forced on it by foreign powers, China ceded Taiwan to Japan
together with all the islands appertaining or belonging to the said island of
Formosa [Taiwan].6 Finally, Japan contends that the San Francisco Peace Treaty
affirms Japans sovereignty over the islands.
The Chinese government argues that their ownership of the islands goes back
to documents that mention the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands as a part of Taiwan (over
which Beijing claims sovereignty) as far back as the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644),
when the islands were included on Ming maps, and officially placed them under the
jurisdiction of Taiwan during the Qing Dynasty. 7 According to a report by the U.S.
government, China never established a permanent settlement of civilians or
military personnel on the islands, and apparently did not maintain permanent naval
forces in adjacent waters.8 Scholars from both sides have found weaknesses in the
arguments of both China and Japan, and often refute the other sides claims. 9
and on the other, an order dominated by Western international law. See Drifte, Reinhard.
The Japan-China Confrontation Over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands Between shelving and
dispute Escalation. The Asia-Pacific Journal 12, no. 30 (July 28, 2014).
5 Defined as territory not annexed by any nation. Definition of TERRA NULLIUS. MerriamWebster. Accessed May 27, 2016. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/terra+nullius.
6 Manyin, Mark E. Senkaku (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai) Islands Dispute: U.S. Treaty Obligations.
Congressional Research Service Report for Congress. Congressional Research Service,
September 25, 2012.
7 Japan scholars note that China the only incorporated Taiwan by the Qing Dynasty in 1683
(Drifte, The Japan-China Confrontation Over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands).
8 Manyin, Mark E. Senkaku (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai) Islands Dispute: U.S. Treaty Obligations.
Congressional Research Service Report for Congress. Congressional Research Service,
September 25, 2012, 23.

9 For an example of competing views, see Drifte, The Japan-China

Confrontation Over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, against Lee, Ivy, and Ming
Fang. Deconstructing Japans Claim of Sovereignty over the
Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands. The Asia-Pacific Journal 10, no. 53 (December 30,
2012). http://apjjf.org/2012/10/53/Ivy-Lee/3877/article.html.

Wong

Japans Ministry of Foreign Affairs evidence of the flaws in Chinas claim to the
islands

Source: Japans Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Senkaku Islands. March 2013.
http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/senkaku/pdfs/senkaku_en.pdf.

Japan scholars and politicians often point out that China only claimed after
the release of a 1969 UN report that speculated the area surrounding the
Senkaku/Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea might contain substantial reserves of
seabed energy resources. These potential resources are a central component to the
discussion in addition to the confrontation of nationalistic sentiments, historical
pride, and issues of sovereignty.
China is the worlds top energy producer and consumer: the net fossil fuel
importer, shipping in 6.1 million barrels of oil per day. 10 While Chinas dominant
source of energy is coal, oil and natural gas together make up 25% of the countrys
10 China: International Energy Data and Analysis. EIA U.S. Energy Information
Administration, May 14, 2015. http://www.eia.gov/beta/international/analysis.cfm?iso=CHN.

Wong

energy consumption.11 The majority of Chinas imported energy resources come

from the Middle East and Africa and are transported through maritime
chokepoints,12 the Straits of Malacca being one key passage. There are few
alternatives that do not pass through these Southeast Asian routes. Japan is even
more import-reliant: the nation has no domestic energy sources. Japan is the second
largest net importer of fossil fuels in the world: 13 the worlds largest liquefied
natural gas importer, second-largest coal importer, and third-largest net importer of
crude oil and oil products.14 Like China, Japan receives much of its energy through
maritime trade routes that pass through critical junctures in Southeast Asian waters.

11 China: International Energy Data and Analysis. EIA.

12 Schofield, Clive, Ian Townsend-Gault, Hasjim Djalal, Ian Storey, Meredith Miller, and Tim
Cook. From Disputed Waters to Seas of Opportunity: Overcoming Barriers to Maritime
Cooperation in East and Southeast Asia. NBR Special Report. Seattle: The National Bureau
of Asian Research, July 2011.
13 Japan Is the Second Largest Net Importer of Fossil Fuels in the World. Today in Energy.
EIA U.S. Energy Information Administration, November 7, 2012.

14 Japan: International Energy Data and Analysis. EIA U.S. Energy

Information Administration, January 30, 2015.
http://www.eia.gov/beta/international/analysis_includes/countries_long/Japa
n/japan.pdf.

Wong

The energy situations of China and Japan make the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands of
great importance to energy security both as a potential energy source within the
vicinity that would reduce dependency on exporters, and as vital routes through
which their current energy resources flow. The lack of resolution of the maritime and

Wong

territorial disputes have prevented any drilling to confirm the abundance of reserves
in the East China Sea and hindered unlocking the full potential the energy reserves
under the sea could offer two countries that would certainly like to have nearby
sources of energy to help fill their countrys demand. Other economic factors
include fishing, and the critical access to sea lines of communication that provide
access to global trade, which is of fundamental importance to the functioning of
the export- oriented economies of East and Southeast Asia. 15
The disputes over the islands have decades of history and several failed
attempts to resolve the conflict, which lead some to the conclusion that political
resolution is unlikely in the near term.16 Escalation of the disputes to violent
confrontation is a concern of some who anticipate the role of the United States in
the conflict to aid Japan. It seems that the faster that China and Japan come to a
resolution, the sooner the untapped ocean resources may be capitalized uponthe
potential energy resources help no one if they continue to remain only potential as
they have. One Japan scholar suggests that the sovereignty issue be shelved in
order for a new understanding to follow, 17 so that instead of stubborn denial of the
existence of a territorial dispute in regards to the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands, efforts
may include concerted interim actions to ease tensions, foster cooperation and
trust, and maintain joint stewardship of the environment and marine resources. 18

15
16
17
18

Schofield et al., From Disputed Waters to Seas of Opportunity.

Ibid.
Drifte, The Japan-China Confrontation Over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands.
Schofield et al., From Disputed Waters to Seas of Opportunity.

Wong

Bibliography
China: International Energy Data and Analysis. EIA U.S. Energy Information
Administration, May 14, 2015.
http://www.eia.gov/beta/international/analysis.cfm?iso=CHN.
Definition of TERRA NULLIUS. Merriam-Webster. Accessed May 27, 2016.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/terra+nullius.
Drifte, Reinhard. The Japan-China Confrontation Over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands
Between shelving and dispute Escalation. The Asia-Pacific Journal 12, no. 30
(July 28, 2014).
Full Text: Diaoyu Dao, an Inherent Territory of China. Xinhua, September 25, 2012.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2012-09/25/c_131872152.htm.
Japan: International Energy Data and Analysis. EIA U.S. Energy Information
Administration, January 30, 2015.
http://www.eia.gov/beta/international/analysis_includes/countries_long/Japan/jap
an.pdf.
Japan Is the Second Largest Net Importer of Fossil Fuels in the World. Today in
Energy. EIA U.S. Energy Information Administration, November 7, 2012.
Japans Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Senkaku Islands. March 2013.
http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/senkaku/pdfs/senkaku_en.pdf.
Lee, Ivy, and Ming Fang. Deconstructing Japans Claim of Sovereignty over the
Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands. The Asia-Pacific Journal 10, no. 53 (December 30,
2012). http://apjjf.org/2012/10/53/Ivy-Lee/3877/article.html.
Manyin, Mark E. Senkaku (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai) Islands Dispute: U.S. Treaty
Obligations. Congressional Research Service Report for Congress.
Congressional Research Service, September 25, 2012.
Schofield, Clive, Ian Townsend-Gault, Hasjim Djalal, Ian Storey, Meredith Miller, and
Tim Cook. From Disputed Waters to Seas of Opportunity: Overcoming Barriers
to Maritime Cooperation in East and Southeast Asia. NBR Special Report.
Seattle: The National Bureau of Asian Research, July 2011.
Togo, Kazuhiko. Japans Territorial Problem: The Northern Territories, Takeshima, and
the Senkaku Islands. NBR Commentary. Seattle: The National Bureau of Asian
Research, May 8, 2012.