Militarism, Resources, and History-The Conflict of the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands-by Jagdeep Gill

            The Senkaku Islands, or Diaoyu Islands depending on whom you ask are a small group of 5 uninhabited islands and three rocks In the North China Sea, north of Taiwan and the southern end of the Ryukyu Islands, Currently under Japanese administration. The islands combined consist an area that’s a measly 7 square kilometres; a tiny amount of land even for the small Republic of China (ROC), based on Taiwan. The location of the islands is one the provides a highly valuable strategic point, especially for the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) on the Mainland as owning those islands would allow for the PRC to has access to the pacific freely without having to sail across Japanese sea. The islands are also a location of rich economic benefits. Not only are the islands a rich fishing source and believed to have large reserves of oil and gas, but it is also on the edge of a continental shelf, thus if China controls the islands, it has an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) that would be of the entire shelf, where as if Japan has it, it’s EEZ would extend into the shelf.

            Historically the islands came into existence in the 15^th century, where the then Ming Dynasty used the islands both as a fishing ground, and as navigational markers when sending ships to it’s vassal the Ryukyu Kingdom, which at that time was independent of Japan. When the Chinese dynasty transitioned from the Ming to Qing, the islands remained a vassal of China but it also became a vassal of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan in 1604. However in 1879 the Ryukyu kingdom was annexed by Japan; The Senkaku/Diaoyu islands were not included in this annexation. In 1886 the Japanese navy wished to conduct surveys of the islands, however these were always incomplete due to bad weather. The islands were not formally made part of Japan, being declared, it belonged to no one. The reason for not taking the islands, which were not to be called Senkaku until 1900, was to keep suspicion of the Qing Dynasty down. When the first Sino-Japanese war ended in 1895, Japan took Taiwan, Korea, Penghu and Laiodong Peninsula from Qing China in the peace treaty that came of the war; and although not mentioned in the treaty, Japan also took Senkaku/Diaoyu islands. 

            Japanese entrepreneur Koga Tatsushiro then privately used the islands for fish processing in 1900, the business flopped in 1940. On 1945, upon the defeat of Japan in WWII, the Ryukyu island chain was placed under American control. The Senkaku/Diaoyu islands were under American jurisdiction, but Koga still had private ownership. On 1970 the islands were sold from Koga’s son to the Kurihari family. Near this time, 1969, The UN identified possible oil and gas resources near the Senkaku/Daioyu islands. On 1972 the islands were passed from US control back to Japan. During this time Taiwan and China both officially started to claim the islands. On September 11, 2012, The Japanese government nationalized control of the islands by buying the islands from the Kurihari family for 1.02 billion yen.

            This event sparked massive anti-Japan protests in China that often turned violent. This were then subdued by the government. Then in November of 2103, China introduced a new Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), that includes the disputed islands within it`s range. Any foreign plane flying in this zone is required to identify it`s flight plan, Maintain a two way radio communication open with the mainland, keep it`s responder beacon on if it has one, Identify it`s nationality and should they fail to respond then China will deploy emergency defensive measures.