Hi and welcome to "Politics with Paint", where we take a look at the wonderful world of international
conflicts. As you might have noticed, I'm standing here on this rock in the middle of nowhere. It is
part of a group of Islands which is the cause for a dangerous conflict involving China, Japan
and Taiwan, which is not often discussed outside of East Asia. In Chinese these Islands are called
the "Diaoyu Islands" and the Japanese know them as the "Senkaku Islands". They are located around here and
on first glance, they seem pretty unimportant: No inhabitants, no interesting features, right
in the middle of nowhere. And they would be pretty unimportant if not for one thing: Politics. Since
the 1970s, these Islands have caused a lot of diplomatic turmoil across East Asia, with
some believing that this dispute could lead to a serious military confrontation between China and
Japan in the future. let's find out what's going on. The problem here, is the China, Taiwan and Japan
all disagree on which of them legally owns these Islands. According to Japan, the Islands a part of
its Southern Okinawa prefecture and de facto, Japan also controls the Islands. Taiwan, however, claims
that the Islands belonged to them while China - Well, China somewhat agrees with Taiwan, saying
that the Islands are part of Taiwan as well. But don't forget who owns Taiwan according to China:
Small hint, it's China. To understand where this disagreement comes from, we need to take a look at the history
of the Islands and the two narratives within that history. According to the Chinese and
Taiwanese point of view, these Islands have been part of China since at least the Middle-Ages and
marked the border between the Ming and later Qing dynasties of China and the Kingdom of Ryukyu,
which was once an independent Island-kingdom. This kingdom would eventually be annexed by Japan in
1879 and become part of today's Okinawa prefecture. Anyway, the Chinese support their claim with a number of
old maps and travel logs from between the 14th and 18th centuries, saying that these prove the
Islands to be rightful Chinese possessions. Fast forward to 1895, and Japan is fighting with the
Chinese Qing dynasty in the first Sino-Japanese war. And the Chinese say that during this war, Japan
illegally annexed these Islands. soon after China lost the war and the subsequent peace
treaty forced it to cede some territory to Japan - most notably the island of Taiwan. This peace
treaty did not mention the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands as being ceded to Japan specifically, however the
Chinese say that the reason for this was that they were considered part of Taiwan. Also, China
had some more pressing issues to tend to, like trying not to collapse. Therefore, some small and
remote Islands in the middle of nowhere weren't really their biggest problem. Fast-forward again to
1945 and the end of the Second World War. Japan had been defeated and was occupied by Allied
forces in 1951. A formal peace treaty was signed, the Treaty of San Francisco ,which forced Japan
to renounce its claims to all illegally acquired overseas territories. This of course also included
the island of Taiwan, which according to the Chinese should also include the Diaoyu/
Senkaku Islands as a part of Taiwan. The Japanese, however, see things differently. According to them,
the Islands were never part of medieval China or the Kingdom of Ryukyu. Instead, the Japanese say that
the Islands were unclaimed before 1895, making them "terra nullius" - which is an fancy Latin
term in international law meaning "no man's land". Annexing terra nullius is perfectly legal under
international law and one of the few remaining ways how nations can legally acquire more
land even today. However, finding unclaimed land today is rather difficult, since we have modern
satellite technology - but it can happen when rare natural events generate new landmass. This
actually happened during an earthquake in 2013, which created a completely new, tiny Island just
off the coast of Pakistan - but back to the topic. The point I'm trying to make is that the Japanese
argue that their annexation of the Islands was perfectly legal in regard to international law.
That but is quite important, since that would entail that the islands would not be part of
the illegally acquired territories, which Japan was forced to return with the peace treaty of San
Francisco. To support this claim, Japan points to a number of maps and geography textbooks
produced in China and Taiwan between 1945 and 1970, depicting the islands as Japanese territory under
their Japanese names. Furthermore, they refer to the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands' classification
under San Francisco peace treaty, which treated them as part of Japan's Okinawa Prefecture. Well,
who is right here? I don't know - decide for yourself. Anyway, since 1951, the Islands were
under US-American administration, together with the entirety of Okinawa in accordance to the San
Francisco peace treaty. However, 20 years later in 1971, the United States began preparing the
return of the rest of the Okinawa prefecture to Japan and with it also the return of the Diaoyu/
Senkaku Islands. This infuriated both China and Taiwan and their governments publicly lay
claim on the islands and protested the return to Japan. After some consideration, the United
States decided to still return the Islands to Japanese jurisdiction. Afterwards, there were
some minor diplomatic incidents but nothing really extraordinary - until the 1990s. Two things coincided
in his period, which turned the conflict from an obscure diplomatic disagreement to a major
international issue: Firstly, the publics in China, Taiwan and Japan started to get much more involved -
sometimes on their own - sometimes instigated by their own governments. Subsequently, nationwide
protests and diplomatic incidents caused by activists became a fairly common phenomenon.
Properties would get damaged, people injured and some activists would even lose their lives.
In 1996, a 45 year old Chinese activist from Hong Kong drowned in an attempt to swim to
the Island. Afterwards, activists from China, Taiwan and Japan would periodically attempt to reach the
Islands and raise their national flags there. More recently in 2012, massive anti-Japanese protests
erupted across China's major cities after the Japanese government announced plans to purchase
some of the disputed islands - which had so far been in private hands. Secondly, the balance of
power in East Asia started to shift as China's economy began to grow rapidly - beginning to rival
the economic powerhouse of Japan and even outgrow it in 2011. China's policy regarding the conflict
became much more assertive, particularly after Japan nationalised the islands in 2012, seeing
an unprecedented rise in incidents between Chinese and Japanese naval forces within the territorial
waters of the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands. This alone would be pretty dangerous enough, but China and
Japan not only confront each other in the ocean, but also in the skies. In 2013, the conflict made
international headlines again when China announced the implementation of the so-called "East China Sea
Air Defense Identification Zone". What made this action so controversial is that it extends over
the entirety of the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands, therefore significantly overlapping with the
Japanese air defense identification zone. What followed was a steady increase in incidents over
the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands, where Chinese and Japanese military planes would get dangerously
close to each other. Until now, we've talked mostly about China and Japan so far. But where is Taiwan in
all of this? Well, Taiwan takes a more cautious approach and for good reason. First of all, yes,
size matters - especially in international politics. And Taiwan is quite a bit smaller than China and
Japan. Smaller population, smaller military and smaller economy. Therefore, it cannot compete with
the two Titans of East Asia at the same level. Second, the conflict over the Diaoyu/Senkaku
Islands puts Taiwan into a really awkward situation. To be very brief, you could say
that Taiwan is viewed by China as a slightly rebellious province, which has been de facto
independent from mainland China since 1945. And since then, China worked relentlessly to undermine
any Taiwanese aspirations for independence and seeking to reunify the island of the rest
of China. Of course, under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. For Taiwan the issues
surrounding the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands is therefore linked with the question of its own sovereignty.
And although Taiwan's territorial claims are supported by China, simply cooperating with its
communist counterpart across the strait is not a viable option if Taiwan wants to secure de facto
independence. For this purpose, Taiwan urgently needs to keep its allies, among which Japan is
extremely important. Both are part of the same semi-official system of alliances in the Asia Pacific,
which are led by the United States with the goal to contain Chinese influence in the region. And
to secure Taiwan's de facto independence. Taking a firm anti-Japanese position means to alienate an
important ally in the region and to move towards less independence in favor of Beijing's foreign
policy. However, taking a firm anti-China position would also come at a great cost for Taiwan, as it
would look like the Taiwanese government is trading its territorial integrity and historical rights
to the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands for strategic gain. Therefore, it is not surprising that Taiwan
has refrained from criticizing both China and Japan too much when incidents occur. But long ago
somebody wise said: "When two people quarrel, a third rejoices". Taiwan uses the situation to improve
its relations with China, while at the same time negotiating smaller compromises with Japan, on for
example fishing rights. But also to smooth tensions with an important ally. So far, we have looked at
the claims to the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands and how the conflict has developed. But there is still one
question left which needs to be answered: Why? Why are these little, barren Islands in the middle of
nowhere worth all this trouble? Well if you ask me, the answer to this question has three dimensions:
Economic, strategic and symbolic. First, the economic dimension. The Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands may be
uninhabited and barren, however, that does not mean that they have no economic value at all. The most
significant economic factor is the existence of oil and gas fields in the waters surrounding
the Islands, as first suggested by a United Nations report back in 1969. Apart from this, the presence
of rich fishing grounds is also something not to be underestimated in their economic value. This is
particularly true for China, Taiwan and Japan - all of which consume fairly high quantities
of seafood. Also, owning Islands in general is a great way to secure many kinds of resources, as
they can massively expand a nation's so-called "Exclusive Economic Zone" short "EEZ". This zone is
an up to 200 nautical miles radius around a piece of land, in which only the nation which
owns this piece of land has the exclusive rights to the area's natural resources. And if you are a
nation with a lot of isolated islands, like for instance, the British, you can have an EEZ much
larger than what just your mainland would get you alone. Therefore, legally owning the Diaoyu/Senkaku Island could
have a significant impact on the three nations' EEZ. Although, it should be noted that it is not quite
clear if the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands actually classify as Islands in accordance to the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). According to its definition, only land-masses capable of
sustaining human habitation or economic life are considered Islands with an EEZ. Next we come
to the strategic reasons behind the conflict. For this, let's look at the map of East Asia first. The
map shows us that China has a geographical problem, as its access to the sea can easily be restricted
by controlling a number of choke points in the Pacific. Wendover Productions has an excellent
video explaining this issue in detail - link in the description. Basically, this means that in the event of
an armed conflict, China could lose its vital access to the seas. Controlling the Diaoyu/Senkaku
Islands could ease this problem for China at least a little bit. At the same time, losing control
over the Islands would weaken Japan's position, too, as in the event of a military confrontation
China could more easily disrupt Japan's access to vital energy exports from the Middle-East, which
pass the nearby waters. Lastly, let's examine the symbolic dimension. I guess it's fair to say that
the relationship between China, Taiwan and Japan is - to put it mildly - difficult. The events of the
19th and 20th centuries had a large impact on how these nations see each other and it's no bloody
wonder. In mainland China, as well as in Taiwan, people suffered much during the past Japanese
Imperial expansions between 1895 and 1945. And this decade-long suffering has been burned into the
Chinese consciousness and still influences how many Chinese people view Japan and its actions
today. Both Chinese and Taiwanese officials have stated that they haven't seen sufficient efforts
on Japan's part to apologize for its crimes and that it hasn't come to terms with its past. They
feel that Japan hasn't recognised its guilt enough and that actions such as claiming the Diaoyu/
Senkaku Islands are indicative of that. At the same time, many Japanese feel that these
accusations are unjust, believing that Japan has apologised enough and atoned for its actions with
reparations, development aid and other means of help. To some, it also seems that Japan's recent
past is being exploited to weaken the nation by questioning its territorial integrity. Furthermore,
this conflict has also symbolic importance for the relationship between China and Taiwan. For China,
this conflict is a way to show the Taiwanese that the communist government in Beijing is fighting
for the territorial integrity of all of China. And by taking a tough stance against Japan, China
hopes to gain support from the Taiwanese public and government - which could bring them closer to
unification under Beijing's rule. We should also not forget that the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands
are by no means the only territorial dispute with which China and Japan have to deal with. Should
China and Japan compromise on this one issue, others could come knocking fairly quickly. For
all these reasons, the conflict around the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands is unlikely to be resolved
anytime soon. I hope this video helped you to understand this issue and if you like to see
similar videos on other conflicts, just leave a comment. Thank you for watching Politics with Paint.