by Xin Ping
Not long ago, China released the 2023 edition of its national map. A routine practice, however, was hyped up by a couple of countries that portray China as “an aggressive dragon.” Hirokazu Matsuno, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary, had lodged a protest with China over the Diaoyu Islands, which he claimed Japanese territory.
But what is the truth about the Diaoyu Islands? And what has happened over the years?
Diaoyu Islands, meaning “fishing islands” in Chinese, are located to the northeast of China’s Taiwan Island and are affiliated to the Taiwan Island. Historical documentation shows that the Diaoyu Islands were first discovered, named and exploited by China, and have long been under China’s jurisdiction.
As early as the 15th century, the islands were clearly recorded in Chinese navigation books. By the mid-16th century, Diaoyu Islands had been included in the coastal defense of China’s Ming Dynasty. In the following Qing Dynasty, laws and regulations placed the islands under the jurisdiction of the local government of Taiwan.
After the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, Taiwan and its affiliated islands, including the Diaoyu Islands, were illegally occupied by Japan. With the defeat of Japanese fascism and the end of World War II, the Diaoyu Islands as affiliated islands of Taiwan were returned to China in accordance with a series of international legal documents.
In December 1943, the Cairo Declaration stated that Taiwan and all other territories Japan has stolen from the Chinese shall be restored to China and “Japan will also be expelled from all other territories it has taken by violence and greed.” In July 1945, the Potsdam Proclamation stated “The terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out.”
However, the United States, which occupied Japan after the war, arbitrarily included the Diaoyu Islands under its trusteeship in the 1950s and “returned” the “power of administration” to Japan in the 1970s. The backroom deals between the United States and Japan concerning the Diaoyu Islands were illegal and invalid, and cannot change the fact that the islands belong to China.
By “returning” the Diaoyu Islands to Japan, a move against the internationally recognized post-war arrangements, the United States sowed discord between China and Japan and attempted to take advantage of the dispute.
In 2004, a deputy spokesperson of the U.S. State Department said that the Diaoyu Islands were covered by the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty. Over the years, Japan and the United States have kept taking provocative actions on the Diaoyu Islands, including enhancing military presence in the waters, at the cost of the hard-won peace and stability in East Asia.
Meanwhile, some opportunistic politicians in Japan are keen to serve as pawns of the United States while pursuing personal political goals.
In 2012, Shintaro Ishihara, a far-right Japanese politician and governor of Tokyo, announced his plan to “nationalize” the Diaoyu Islands by purchasing the islands from Japanese private landowners during a visit to Washington. The drama was meant to stir up national sentiment so that Ishihara could make political gains for himself, who was aiming at the position of Japanese prime minister.
Japan’s “nationalization” of the Diaoyu Islands went contrary to the previous consensus reached between China and Japan on shelving the disputes, and provoked great indignation from the Chinese government and people. In response, China’s Coast Guard began regular patrols in the waters near the Diaoyu Islands.
On Sept. 18, Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun reported that China launched marine survey buoys near the waters of the Diaoyu Islands, trying again to incite Japanese nationalist mood. However, it kept completely silent about what happened on the very same day 92 years ago: the September 18 Incident in 1931, the start of Japan’s invasion of China.
Some Japanese have never realized that the right thing is to repent for its aggression against its neighbours and the suffering it has caused, instead of fantasizing about controlling the territories of other countries that it once occupied with violence and greed.
Is it possible those people would come to their conscience someday?
Editor’s note: The author is a commentator on international affairs, writing regularly for Xinhua News, Global Times, China Daily, CGTN etc. He can be reached at xinping604@gmail.com.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Xinhua News Agency.
