China has never renounced its inherent ownership over the
archipelagoes, although they were once illegally snatched by Japan during its
aggressive military expansion in the late 19th century.
The Japanese also occupied the islands for an extended
period during the Cold War by taking advantage of the international
circumstances of that period.
The Chinese Government since the founding of the People's
Republic in 1949 has claimed on many occasions that China should enjoy
indisputable ownership over these uninhabited isles.
To promote friendly relations and pursue a win-win
compromise with Japan, late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping proposed the two
countries seek common exploitation of the islands while shelving disputes over
the ownership of them.
Regrettably, the Japanese Government, backed by its
current advantage of occupying the Diaoyu Islands, has always been unwilling to
recognize the ownership dispute with China.
Tokyo has made no active response to China's workable
proposal of "common exploitation'' of the Diaoyu Islands, and has even turned a
blind eye to unbridled visits to the islands by Japanese right-wingers and other
radical factions.
On related issues, such as its exclusive economic zone
and the continental shelf in the East China Sea, the Japanese Government has
consistently adopted the so-called "equidistant medium line'' principle in an
attempt to expand its exclusive economic zone.
Certainly, the unilateral actions taken by the Japanese
Government on the Diaoyu Islands, exclusive economic zones and continental
shelves in the East China Sea fall short of foundation in international law.
They have encroached upon China's territorial and oceanic
sovereignty, as well as its legitimate rights over the exclusive economic zone
and continental shelves.
Japan's claim of ownership over the Diaoyu Islands is
based on three reasons: First, when Japan found the islands, they were
uninhabited. Second, Japan began to put them under its formal jurisdiction after
it seized them in 1895. Third, the islands are part of Japan's Ryukyu Islands
but not part of the Chinese Taiwan Island, and its ownership over Ryukyu Islands
is recognized by the United States.
These reasons are all groundless.
As early as the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Chinese
central government folded the Diaoyu Islands into the coastal defence scope of
Fujian Province. All later Chinese authorities put them under China's
jurisdiction until they were snatched by Japan in 1895.
Japan's snatching of the Diaoyu Islands by force does not
mean the ownership of them changed hands, just like Japan's occupation of Taiwan
did not mean it enjoyed ownership of the island.
The Chinese Government has every reason to stand for the
whole Chinese people to claim ownership of the Diaoyu Islands after New China
was established in 1949.
Japan's third argument is not even worthy of
refuting.
Anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of geography knows
the Diaoyu Islands have no direct link with Japan's Ryukyu
Islands.
The Diaoyu Islands lie on the periphery of the
continental shelf in the East China Sea, divided from the Japanese Islands by
the Okinawa Oceanic Trough.
According to the United Nations Convention of the Law of
the Sea, the geographical scope of an archipelagic country includes the islands,
waters, and other natural terrains that in essence constitute a geographical,
economic and political entity.
It is a historical fact the Diaoyu Islands constituted an
entity with China's other territories.
Geographically, the Diaoyu Islands lie 410 kilometres
from Japan's Okinawa Islands, but only about 300 kilometres from the Chinese
mainland and less than 100 kilometres from Taiwan.
Japan's argument that its ownership is recognized by the
US is also shaky.
The United States, in its accord on returning Okinawa
Island to Japan, said it would take a neutral stance towards any ownership
disputes when it returned the islands gained from Japan during World War II,
which included the Diaoyu Islands.
Japan's claim that there is no dispute with China over
the ownership of the islands, the corresponding exclusive economic zone and the
continental shelf is patently untrue.
It would be in Japan's best interests to join China in
pursuing joint exploitation of the resources-rich islands and their adjacent
waters in a peaceful, co-operative, and consultative spirit.
(China Daily )
