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The Senkaku Islands (尖閣諸島, Senkaku Shotō, variants: Senkaku-guntō and Senkaku-rettō), also known as the Diaoyu Islands or Diaoyutai Islands (simplified Chinese: 钓鱼台群岛; traditional Chinese: 釣魚台群島; pinyin: Diàoyútái Qúndǎo) or the Pinnacle Islands, are a group of disputed uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. They are located roughly northeast of Taiwan, due west of Okinawa, and due north of the southwestern end of the Ryukyu Islands.

Japan controlled these islands from 1895 until her surrender at the end of World War II. The United States administered them as part of the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands from 1945 until 1972, when they were reverted to Japan. Since 1971, they have been claimed by both the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People's Republic of China. China has claimed discovery and administration between 16th century or earlier until 1895.

The islands are a major issue in foreign relations between Japan and the PRC and between Japan and the ROC. Despite the complexity of relations between the two states, both the governments of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and People's Republic of China agree that the islands are part of Taiwan as part of Toucheng Township in Yilan County. The Japanese government regards these islands as a part of Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture.

Names

The first recorded name of the islands, Diaoyu, used in books such as Voyage with a Tail Wind (simplified Chinese: 顺风相送; traditional Chinese: 順風相送; pinyin: Shǜnfēng Xiāngsòng) and Record of the Imperial Envoy's Visit to Ryūkyū (simplified Chinese: 使琉球录; traditional Chinese: 使琉球錄; pinyin: Shĭ Liúqiú Lù) date to 1403 and 1534, respectively. Adopted by the Chinese Imperial Map of the Ming Dynasty, both the Chinese name for the island group (Diaoyu) and the Japanese name for the main island (Uotsuri) both literally mean "angling".

The first published description of the islands in the West was brought to Europe by Isaac Titsingh in 1796. His small library of Japanese books included Sangoku Tsūran Zusetsu (三国通覧図説, An Illustrated Description of Three Countries) by Hayashi Shihei. This book, which was published in Japan in 1785, described the Ryūkyū Kingdom. In 1832, the Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland supported the posthumous abridged publication of Titsingh's French translation.

The first reference to the islands in a book published in English was Edward Belcher's 1848 account of the voyages of HMS Sammarang which anchored off Pinnacle Island in 1845.

In 1870s and 1880s, the English name Pinnacle Islands was used by the British navy for the rocks adjacent to the largest island Uotsuri Jima/Diaoyu Dao (then called Hoa-pin-su); Kuba Jima/Huangwei Yu (then called Ti-a-usu); and Taishō Jima/Chiwei Yu. The name "Pinnacle Islands" is used by some as an English-language equivalent to "Diaoyu" or "Senkaku".

In 1900, when Tsune Kuroiwa, a teacher at the Okinawa Prefecture Normal School, visited the islands, he adopted the name Senkaku Retto (simplified Chinese: 尖阁列岛; traditional Chinese: 尖閣列島; pinyin: Jiāngéliè Dăo), literally Pinnacle Islands, to refer the whole island group, based on the British name. The first official document recording the name Senkaku Retto was by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nihon Gaiko Monjo (日本外交文書, Documents on Japanese Foreign Relations) in the 1950s. In Japanese, Sentō Shosho (尖頭諸嶼) and Senkaku Shosho (尖閣諸嶼) were translations used for these "Pinnacle Islands" by various Japanese sources. Subsequently, the entire island group (including Uotsuri Jima/Diaoyu Dao and all the others) came to be called Senkaku Rettō, which later evolved into Senkaku Shotō.

Geography

The islands sit on the edge of the continental shelf of mainland Asia, and are separated from the Ryukyu Islands by the Okinawa Trough.

In ascending order of distances, the island cluster is

• 140 km 140 kilometres (76 nmi; 87 mi) east of Pengjia Islet
• 170 km 170 kilometres (92 nmi; 110 mi) north of Ishigaki Island
• 186 km 186 kilometres (100 nmi; 116 mi) northeast of Keelung
• 410 km 410 kilometres (220 nmi; 250 mi) west of Okinawa Island

Japan put these islets under the administration of Okinawa whereas the People's Republic of China and Republic of China (Taiwan) see it as a part of Taiwan.

Diaoyu Dao/Uotsuri Jima, the largest island, has a number of endemic species such as the Mogera uchidai and Okinawa-kuro-oo-ari ant, but these have become threatened by domestic goats that were introduced to the island in 1978 and whose population has increased to over 300 since that time.

Amongst all islands, Nan Xiaodao/ Minami Kojima is one of the few breeding places of the rare Short-tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus).

Historical events and territorial dispute

Disagreements about the causes of the dispute are an additional subject of controversy.

On one hand, some Chinese have described the territorial dispute as a disruptive mine planted by the United States into Sino-Japanese relations; and on the other hand, some Japanese news media position all discussion about the islands' status within a broader pattern of Chinese territorial assertions. The historical record creates a context for specific incidents in the unfolding history of these islands. Other nations closely monitor the evolution and development of this dispute.

2010 seabed dispute

In September 2010, a minor incident between a Chinese trawler and the Japanese Coast Guard involved wider issues and consequences. This escalated into increased tensions over drilling for natural gas in contested waters in the East China Sea; and the provocative factors are only partially identified in a perceived zero-sum game.

Japan has objected to Chinese development of natural gas resources in the East China Sea in an area where the two countries Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) claims overlap. Japan claims a division of the EEZ on the median line between the countries' coastlines. About 40,000 square kilometers of EEZ are in dispute. China and Japan both claim 200 nautical miles EEZ rights, but the East China Sea width is only 360 nautical miles. China claims an EEZ extending to the eastern end of the Chinese continental shelf (based on UNCLOS III) which goes deep into the Japanese's claimed EEZ.

The specific development in dispute is China's drilling in the Chunxiao field, which is located in undisputed areas on China's side, three miles west of the median line proposed by Japan, but which Japan contends may be tapping natural gas reserves which extend past the median line. The Chunxiao gas field in Xihu Sag in the East China Sea is estimated to hold reserves of more than 1.6 tcf of natural gas and is expected to become a major producer in the next ten years. Commercial operation was expected to begin in mid-2005 at a production rate of 70 bcf per year, rising to 282 bcf by 2010. Sinopec Star has reserves of 7 tcf of gas, 1.9 tcf of which is held in the Chunxiao area. This new round of disputes has triggered both official and civilian protests and demonstrations in both countries.

See also

• Sino-Japanese relations
• China Federation for Defending the Diaoyu Islands
• Action Committee for Defending the Diaoyu Islands
• Kuril Islands
• Okinotorishima
• Spratly Islands
• Paracel Islands

Footnotes

1. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Senkaku-guntō, Japan, retrieved 2010-09-20.
2. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Senkaku-rettō, Japan, retrieved 2010-09-20.
3. Lee, Seokwoo. (2002). Territorial Disputes Among Japan, China and Taiwan Concerning the Senkaku Islands, pp. 10-13., p. 10, at Google Books
4. WorldCat, Sangoku Tsūran Zusetsu; alternate romaji Sankoku Tsūran Zusetsu
5. Cullen, Louis M. (2003). A History of Japan, 1582-1941: Internal and External Worlds, p. 137., p. 137, at Google Books
6. Klaproth, Julius. (1832). San kokf tsou ran to sets, ou Aperçu général des trois royaumes, pp. 169-180., p. i, at Google Books
7. Suganuma, Unryu. (2001). Sovereign Rights and Territorial Space in Sino-Japanese Relations, pp. 87, 89-90, p. 87, at Google Books
8. Belcher, Edward. (1848). Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Samarang, pp. 316-318, 573., p. 316, at Google Books
9. Suganuma, p. 90., p. 90, at Google Books; Jarrad, Frederick W. (1873). The China Sea Directory, Vol. IV, pp. 141-142., p. 141, at Google Books
10. Hagström, Linus. (2005). Japan's China Policy: A Relational Power Analysis, p. 1., p. 1, at Google Books
11. Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrals (ACAP), Breeding site details: Agincourt/P'eng-chia-Hsu
12. Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI), 魚釣島 (Uotsuri Jima).
13. GSI, 久場島 (Kuba Jima).
14. GSI, 大正島 (Taishō Jima).
15. Google Maps, 南小島 (Minami Kojima)
16. Google Maps, 北小島 (Kita Kojima); GSI, 北小島 (Kita Kojima).
17. GSI, 沖ノ北岩 (Okino Kitaiwa).
18. GSI, 沖ノ南岩 (Okino Minami-iwa).
19. GSI, 飛瀬 (Tobise).
20. Yamada, Takao. "Keeping the big picture in sight in Senkaku Islands dispute," Mainichi Shimbun (Tokyo). October 4, 2010, citing 1972 book by Kiyoshi Inoue, 釣魚列島的歷史和主權問題 (Diaoyu dao: li shi yu zhu quan, Historical Facts of Senkaku Islands/Diaoyu Islands, 1972)
21. Feng Zhaoku. "Diaoyu dispute sowed by US," China Daily (Beijing). September 15, 2010.
22. ^ Fackler, Martin and Ian Johnson. "Arrest in Disputed Seas Riles China and Japan," New York Times. July 19. 2010.
23. Chellaney, Brahma. "India-China: Let facts speak for themselves," The Economic Times (Mumbai). 17 September 2010.
24. Wong, Edward. "China’s Disputes in Asia Buttress Influence of U.S.," New York Times. September 23, 2010; Kim, Christine Kim and Kang Chan-ho. "China-Japan territorial dispute worries Seoul," Korea JoongAng Daily (Seoul). September 25, 2010.
25. "Fisherman's arrest in Asia: China and Japan must not trawl for trouble" Christian Science Monitor (Boston). September 21, 2010.
26. ^ "Senkaku/Diaoyutai Islands". Globalsecurity.org.
27. "Chinese, Japanese Stage Protests Over East China Sea Islands". Voice of America.

References

• Belcher, Edward and Arthur Adams. (1848). Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Samarang, During the Years 1843-46: Employed Surveying the Islands of the Eastern Archipelago. London : Reeve, Benham, and Reeve. OCLC 192154
• Findlay, Alexander George. (1889). A Directory for the Navigation of the Indian Archipelago and the Coast of China. London: R. H. Laurie. OCLC 55548028
• Hagström, Linus. (2005). Japan's China Policy: A Relational Power Analysis. London: Routledge. 10-ISBN 0415346797/13-ISBN 9780415346795; OCLC 475020946
• Inoue, Kiyoshi. (1972) Senkaku Letto /Diaoyu Islands The Historical Treatise. Kyoto: Daisan Publisher (出版社: 第三書館) (1996/10)「尖閣」列島―釣魚諸島の史的解明 . ISBN-10: 4807496123 / ISBN-13: 978-4807496129; also hosted in here for online reading (set to Shift-JIS character code), with English synopsis here. Chinese translation by Ying Hui, Published by Commericial Press Hong Kong (1973) 釣魚列島的歷史和主權問題 / 井上清著 ; 英慧譯, ISBN 9622574734.
• Jarrad, Frederick W. (1873). The China Sea Directory, Vol. IV. Comprising the Coasts of Korea, Russian Tartary, the Japan Islands, Gulfs of Tartary and Amúr, and the Sea of Okhotsk. London: Hydrographic Office, Admiralty. OCLC 557221949
• Lee, Seokwoo, Shelagh Furness and Clive Schofield. (2002). Territorial disputes among Japan, China and Taiwan concerning the Senkaku Islands. Durham: University of Durham, International Boundaries Research Unit (IBRU). 10-ISBN 1897643500/13-ISBN 9781897643501; OCLC 249501645
• Suganuma, Unryu. (2000). Sovereign Rights and Territorial Space in Sino-Japanese Relations. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. 10-ISBN 0824821599/13-ISBN 9780824821593; 10-ISBN 0824824938/13-ISBN 9780824824938; OCLC 170955369

Further reading

• Donaldson, John and Alison Williams. "Understanding Maritime Jurisdictional Disputes: The East China Sea and Beyond," Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 59, No. 1.
• Dzurek, Daniel. "The Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands Dispute," International Boundaries Research Unit (IBRU). October 18, 1996.
• Helflin, William B. "Daiyou/Senkaku Islands Dispute: Japan and China, Oceans Apart," 1 Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal 1-22 (2000).
• Peterson, Alexander M. "Sino-Japanese Cooperation in the East China Sea: A Lasting Arrangement?" 42 Cornell International Law Journal 441-474 (2009).
• Ramos-Mrosovsky, Carlos. "International Law's Unhelpful Role in the Senkaku Islands,", 29 University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law 903-946 (2008).

External links

• Google maps, Senkaku Islands
• "Q&A China Japan island row," BBC News Asia-Pacific. September 24, 2010.
• Globalsecurity.org — "Senkaku/Diaoyutai Islands"; References, Links
• Inventory of Conflict and Environment (ICE), Diaoyu Islands Dispute
• Waseda University — Hayashi Shihei. (1785). 三国通覧図説 (Sangoku Tsuran Zusetsu)

• Archipelagoes of Japan
• Cross-Strait interactions
• Disputed islands
• Islands of China
• Islands of Japan
• Islands of Taiwan
• Territorial disputes of Japan
• Territorial disputes of the People's Republic of China
• Territorial disputes of the Republic of China