英闻天下——80 Review: Territorial Disputes Increase in Asia-Pacific

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　　As such, today's key words are "territorial disputes".

 

　　CRI's Robert Costelloe has more.

 

　　This is the sound of anti-Japan rallies which took place in China in 2012.

 

　　The dispute over the Diaoyu Islands has led to a boycott² of Japanese products in many cities across the country.

 

　　2012 was supposed to be a year for China and Japan to celebrate 40 years of normalized diplomatic ties.

 

　　However, commemorative ceremonies were cancelled after then Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara's announcement that he was trying to raise money to "purchase" the Diaoyu Islands from their private owners.

 

　　The situation became more enflamed after then Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda announced in July the Japanese government was considering "nationalizing" the islands.

 

　　The dispute hit its boiling-point in September, after the Japanese government reached agreement with the islands' so-called private owners to "buy" three of the five uninhabited islands at a cost of more than 26 million US dollars.

 

　　This drew harsh condemnation³ from the Chinese government. Geng Yansheng is with the Chinese Defence Ministry⁴.

 

　　"The Chinese military expresses its resolute⁵ opposition⁶ and strong protest. The Chinese government and the Chinese military are steadfast⁷ in their resolve and determination to safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity. We are closely following the situation and reserve the right to take relevant measures."

 

　　The Chinese government then launched a series of counter measures, including monitoring and inspections⁸ of the region.

 

　　The Chinese government also began publishing maritime⁹ environmental forecasts for the Diaoyu Islands, as well as mapping the base points and baselines of the territorial waters.

 

　　And in October, Chinese marine¹⁰ surveillance ships and navy warships¹² also began patrolling the waters around the Diaoyu Islands. Qiu Yanpeng is the deputy commander of the East China Sea Fleet.

 

　　"The Diaoyu Island and its affiliated¹³ islands have been China's inherent territory since ancient times and China has indisputable sovereignty over them."

 

　　The Diaoyu Islands aren't Japan's only territorial dispute. Japan and South Korea have also become locked in an increasingly escalated¹⁴ dispute over a set of sparsely¹⁵ populated islands, which are known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea.

 

　　That dispute flared¹⁶ up after South Korean President Lee Myung Bak paid a visit to Dokdo in August. Kim Sung-hwan is South Korean Foreign Minister.

 

　　"The South Korean government's stance is that the Dokdo is our territory, so there is no territorial dispute."

 

　　The move drew a harsh response from then-Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.

 

　　"Takeshima is Japan's territory both historically and under international law. Visits by President Lee Myung-bak on August the 10th and related ministers thereafter contradict with our position on Takeshima and is extremely regrettable."

 

　　Territorial disputes were also straining Japan's relations with Russia in 2012. Japan wants Russia to hand over four islands, which Russia calls the Southern Kurils and Japan calls the Northern Territories. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev made a visit to the islands in July, which also sparked a strong protest from Japan's Foreign Ministry.

 

　　Meanwhile, in the South China Sea, a dispute over the Nansha Islands erupted in April, after a Philippine warship¹¹ blocked a dozen Chinese fishing vessels¹⁷ from leaving Huangyan Island after they took refuge there to wait out a storm.

 

　　The issue eventually spurred the Chinese coast guard to get involved, leading to a standoff between the two sides for nearly two weeks.

 

　　In addition, the government of Vietnam adopted the "Vietnamese Law of the Sea" legislation in late June.

 

　　That legislation describes the Xisha and Nansha Islands as being within Vietnam's sovereignty and jurisdiction¹⁸.

 

　　The territorial spats¹⁹ in the South China Sea have sparked calls for ASEAN and China to turn a non-aggression accord they signed in 2002 into a stronger, legally-binding "code of conduct".

 

　　Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang was part of the Chinese delegation²⁰, which attended ASEAN's annual summit in mid-November.

 

　　"This issue should be properly addressed between ASEAN and China, and this is not the key issue, and this should not be a stumbling block between China-ASEAN relations."

 

　　The territorial disputes in the South China Sea will continue to develop in 2013.

 

　　For CRI, I'm Robert Costelloe.

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