As neighbours, China and Japan have a chequered history mingled with periods of conflict and peace. Following the second Sino-Japanese war, China was occupied by Japan between 1937 and 1945. The war was a consequence of decades-long Japanese imperialist policy aiming to dominate China politically and militarily, and to secure its vast raw material reserves and other economic resources.
Before 1937, China and Japan fought in small, localised engagements. In 1931, however, the Japanese invasion of Manchuria by its Kwantung Army, followed by the Mukden Incident and other skirmishes, including the Marco Polo Bridge Affair, led to total war in 1937. In its wake, China’s occupation left a number of irritants in Sino-Japanese relations. The latest standoff is the issue of Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands, whose ownership is claimed by both countries.
Perceiving the issue impartially, one comes across recorded legal documents indicating Chinese possession since ancient times. The islands were discovered and claimed by China, and its territorial waters have been exploited by Chinese fishermen since primeval era. Records of these islands date back to as early as the 15th century. They were referred as Diaoyu in books, such as Voyage with a Tail Wind; Shùnfēng Xiāngsòng (1403) and Record of the Imperial Envoy’s Visit to Ryūkyū; Shĭ Liúqiú Lù (1534). Adopted by the imperial map of Ming Dynasty, the Chinese name for the island group Diaoyu meant fishing; the documents showed that they were put under the navy’s jurisdiction as affiliated islands of Taiwan.
Japan, on the other hand, refers to them as Senkaku Islands, which comprise five uninhabited islets and three barren rocks. These minor features in the East China Sea are located approximately 120 nautical miles northeast of Taiwan, 200 nautical miles east of the Chinese mainland and 200 nautical miles southwest of the Japanese island of Okinawa.
Japan gained possession of the Diaoyu Islands in 1895, when facing imminent defeat in the Sino-Japanese war, China’s Qing government was forced to sign the unequal Treaty of Shimonoseki and cede to it “the island of Formosa (Taiwan), together with all islands appertaining or belonging to the island of Formosa.“
At the end of World War II, following Japan’s defeat, the US laid claim to all Japanese territory. However, in accordance with the Potsdam Declaration (which Japan accepted as part of the San Francisco Peace Treaty), Tokyo was forced to relinquish control of all islands, except for Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku that comprise modern Japan. Thus, China regained its ownership of the Diaoyu Islands.
Japan contested its ownership, but remained inactive till 1968. But when the UN Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) identified potential undersea oil and gas reserves near the islands, it prompted Japan to lay stake over the Diaoyu Islands. In 1971, Tokyo and Washington signed the Okinawa Reversion Agreement that arbitrarily included the Diaoyu Islands in the territories and territorial waters to be reversed to Japan. From the very beginning, Beijing has firmly opposed and never acknowledged such backdoor deals between Japan and the US concerning Chinese territories.
During the negotiations on the normalisation of China-Japan relations in 1972, and the signing of the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship in 1978, the then leaders of the two countries, acting in larger interest reached an important understanding and common ground on “leaving the issue of the Diaoyu Island to be resolved later.“ This normalised their relations and was followed by tremendous progress in the bilateral ties, and also stability and tranquillity in East Asia in the following 40 years.
Since the advent of 2012, Japan has stirred up the issue and things came to a head on August 18, when a flotilla of four boats carrying about 150 Japanese activists organised by the rightwing group, Ganbare Nippon, arrived at the islands under the plea of commemorating Japan’s World War II deaths in the area. Despite being denied permission, several activists swam to the islands, making an unauthorised landing on Uotsuri, where they raised Japanese flags.
On close scrutiny, Japan’s annexation of the Diaoyu Island, along with the affiliated Nan Xiaodao and Bei Xiaodao through its September 2012 illegal purchase and subsequent nationalisation of the islands, appears to be unlawful and contrary to historical facts. The standoff, however, can still be resolved peacefully through negotiations.

The writer is a political and defence analyst. Email: sultanm.hali@gmail.com