Lessons From The Disturbed Waters: The Diaoyu/diaoyutai/senkaku Islands Disputes

by Katherine Hui-yi Tseng

Overview

Although the flare-up of tensions in East Asia over the disputed islands, which are alternatively called Diaoyu (China), Diaoyutai (Taiwan) and Senkaku (Japan), seems to be ever more frequent, it has not always been the case. Lessons from the Disturbed Waters traces the origin of the issue back to when it first surfaced in the 1970s. The book explains the positions of the claimants, China, Japan and Taiwan, and explores the reasons why they have taken such positions over the past few decades. Unlike the other books which analyse the disputes predominantly from a geopolitical perspective, this books tries to do so mainly from the perspectives of international law, conflict management, negotiation strategies, and history. Readers will get to see an interesting dynamism played out among the three actors which are directly involved and the influence of extra-regional stakeholders such as the US over the disputes. While the disputes are still evolving, the author hopes this book can shed new light on the intricacies and complexities of the disputes and can provide some threads for further in-depth discussions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789814632836
Publisher:	World Scientific Publishing Company, Incorporated
Publication date:	07/07/2015
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.56(d)

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Section 1 China's Positions 3

Chapter 1 China's Positions 5

Overview 5

1 China's Position in the Historical Archives-Before the 1970s 5

2 The 1970s to 1990s - Two Decades with Promising Beginning and Ominous Ending 10

2.1 The Understanding Not Carved Out in Words 14

3 Entering the 1990s: The Critical Timing 15

3.1 Joint Development Attempts in Early 21st Century 17

4 Recent Rounds of Tensions - 2008 to the Present 19

4.1 The 2012 Nationalisation Plan ? Inflammatory Origin 19

4.2 Chinese Reciprocity in Countermeasures 21

4.3 Challenges to the Chinese Perspective - The Wild Nationalistic Sentiments 23

Chapter 2 Historical Arguments 29

Overview 29

1 A General Perspective of Historical Arguments 29

2 Historical Arguments in China's Claims 31

2.1 China's Claims in the Diaoyu Islands Dispute 31

2.2 Implications 35

2.3 China's Claims in the South China Sea Dispute 37

2.4 The Nine-Dotted Line 39

3 Reconsidering "Historical Rights" 40

3.1 The Diaoyu Islands Dispute 40

3.2 A Legal Explanation of China's "Historical Arguments" 44

4 Concluding Observations 46

4.1 Structural Issues and Challenges 46

Chapter 3 Issue-Linkage with Taiwan 49

Overview 49

1 Transformation of the Taiwan Issue 50

1.1 The Taiwan Issue under Transformation 50

1.2 Growing Taiwan Identity Overshadowing the Diaoyu/Diaoyutai/Senkaku Islands Disputes 51

2 The Beginning of Issue-Linkage with the Taiwan Issue 55

2.1 The Initiation 55

2.2 Nuances: Names 57

3 The "Taiwan Dilemma" of China in the Diaoyu Islands Dispute 60

3.1 China's "Taiwan Dilemma" 61

3.2 China's Taiwan Dilemma in Contemporary Regional Context 62

4 The "Taiwan Dilemma" in China's Claim: A Legal Perspective 63

4.1 The Legal Vacuum in China's Claims 63

4.2 Reasons and Ramifications of Chinese Resistance to the SFPT 66

4.3 The Political Considerations of China's Claims 69

5 Conclusion 72

Chapter 4 Challenges to Fishing in the East China Sea 75

Overview 75

1 Fishing in East Asia 75

1.1 Quickly Depleted Fishing Resources 75

1.2 Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing 78

1.3 Fishing: Transformation of an Old Concept: "Sovereignty" and "Security"? 80

2 China's Fishing Industry 83

2.1 Rapid Developments after the 1980s 83

2.2 Challenges in Chinese Fishery Industry Development 86

2.3 Overcapacity of Fishing 87

2.4 Depletion of Coastal Marine Environment 89

2.5 Fishery Legislation and Implementation Issue 92

3 Fishing Activities in East China Sea Disputes: A New Dimension 97

3.1 "Fishing" as a Historical Right in the East China Sea 97

3.2 Emerging Challenges in the Safety of Fishermen in the East China Sea 100

4 Conclusion 104

Section 2 Issues with Other Claimants' Positions 107

Chapter 5 The Sovereignty Myth 109

Overview 109

1 "Sovereignty" Reconsidered in the Context of Globalisation 110

1.1 Sovereignty under Transformation 110

1.1.1 Sovereignty on the Sea 113

2 Territoriality and Territorial Rights 117

2.1 "Territory" as an Unsatisfactory Criterion 117

2.2 Transformation of Territory: From a Constituent to a Derivative Factor 119

3 Issues and Challenges of Transformed Sovereignty and Territorial Rights: Reassessing the Resource Factor 122

3.1 Reassessing the Resource Factor 122

3.2 The Resource Link: Exclusiveness v. Inclusiveness 125

4 Conclusion 128

Chapter 6 Japan's Positions 131

Overview 131

1 Japan's Position 131

1.1 A Brief History 132

1.1.1 The First Inquiry 133

1.1.2 The Second Inquiry 136

2 The Issue-Linkage with the Okinawa Islands Issue 138

2.1 Recent Escalating Tensions 138

2.2 The Okinawa Issue Revisited 140

3 Okinawa v. Ryukyu: What's at Stake and What's Misleading? 144

3.1 Issues at Stake 144

3.2 The Media Reports 147

4 Conclusion 151

Section 3 Issues and Challenges on the Sea 153

Chapter 7 China's Law Enforcement Agency on the Sea 155

Overview 155

1 The Law Enforcement Agency: A General View 156

2 The China Story 156

2.1 Marine Affairs Administration Structure before 2013 and Its Dilemma 156

2.1.1 Maritime Affairs Administration 157

2.1.2 Marine Law Enforcement Agencies - To Pull Apart the System Limb from Limb? 159

2.1.3 The Two Major Organs 160

2.2 Institutional Challenges in Current Political Environment 161

2.3 Implications - The Blurring of Legal and Civil Boundaries 163

3 The Reform in 2013: What Triggered the Reform? 166

3.1 A Sequence of Maritime Territorial Scraps 166

3.2 New Initiative of Marine Affairs Administration Reform 170

4 The Restructuring of Current Marine Affairs Administration 171

4.1 Prelude of the Reform - A New Task Force Established in the Second Half of 2012 171

4.2 Act Two - Intra-Ministerial Restructuring 173

4.3 The Finale or the Beginning of a New Theatre? 174

4.3.1 The Official Launch of the New State Oceanic Administration 174

5 Prospect: A Ministry of Oceanic Affairs and a Basic Law? 178

5.1 The Horizontal and Vertical Structural Shortcomings 179

5.2 Challenges to a New Marine Affairs Administration - A Basic Law or Rising of a New Super Bureaucracy? 181

Chapter 8 Re-Contemplation from the View of Conflict Management 185

Overview 185

1 The Role of Law in Claimants' Positions 185

1.1 Applicable Law: Domestic and International 186

1.1.1 Conformity and Incongruence 187

2 Joint Development: How Far Can It Go? 190

2.1 Joint Development in East Asia: A Good Idea in an Immature Environment 190

2.2 Joint Development: Mere Negotiation Tactics? 192

2.2.1 Chinese Proposal - "Joint Development" 192

2.2.2 Japanese Positions: A Narrow Gate to Joint Development 197

3 Marine Resources; Sovereignty, EEZs and Resource Rights 201

3.1 Sovereignty and Resource Rights 201

3.1.1 A Resource Perspective to Accommodate Taiwan's Participation 202

3.2 A Green Right Emerging to Exclude in the EEZ? 203

4 Conclusion 207

Section 4 Other Emerging Challenges 209

Chapter 9 Epilogue 211

Overview 211

1 Aviation Freedom in the Diaoyu Islands/East China Sea 211

1.1 China's Air Defence Identification Zone in East China Sea 211

1.2 Implications 213

1.2.1 Observations - The Initiative and Intention 213

1.2.2 Observations - The Receiving Ends 214

2 Taiwan and Its Real Pursuit: The East China Sea Peace Initiative 217

2.1 Taiwan's Real Pursuit: Peace v. Sovereignty 217

2.2 The Fishery Agreement: Realistic Interests v. Inviolable Sovereignty 220

3 Concluding Observations 222

Index 227