THE DIAOYUDAO (SENKAKU) DISPUTES AND PROSPECTS FOR SETTLEMENT

The Diaoyudao (Senkaku) disputes between China and Japan are one of th e most controversial issues in Northeast Asia. The controversy involve s two dimensions: sovereignty over the Diaoyudao Islands and the relev ant maritime jurisdictional rights and interests in East China Sea. Ch ina holds that the Diaoyudao Islands have been China's territory since ancient times, and that they appertain to Taiwan. China argues that f rom the viewpoints of geography, history, usage, and international tre aties, the Islands belong to China. Japan holds that these Islands wer e terra nullius before their incorporation by Japan in 1895, and that they were not included in the Shimonoseki Treaty signed after the Sino -Japanese War in 1895, nor included in the territories Japan had to gi ve up according to the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1951. Judging fro m international law, the claims of China are valid and well-founded, a nd are stronger than those of Japan. First, China meets the requiremen ts of acquisition by discovery. Secondly, Japan's annexation of the is lands is closely related to its victory in the Sino-Japanese War, and this annexation has no legal effects on sovereignty. Thirdly, the incl usion of the Islands in the Okinawa Reversion Treaty signed between Ja pan and the US in 1971 cannot be taken as an evidence of Japan's sover eignty over the Islands. The disputes over the Diaoyudao Islands are i n fact greatly connected with relevant maritime jurisdictional rights and interests. There exist differences between China and Japan in rega rd to the principles of the delimitation of continental shelf, to the maritime jurisdictional rights of islands, and to the principles of bo undary delimitation. China adheres to the natural prolongation of land territory, and holds that the Diayudao islands do not warrant their o wn continental shelf, and that the boundary delimitation should be mai nly effected by agreement. Japan stands for a 200-nautical-miles limit for the continental shelf, for the use of the Islands as base points for continental shelf claims on East China Sea, and for the median-lin e principle in boundary delimitation. The Diaoyudao disputes have been shelved since the normalization of relations between China and Japan in 1972--a good approach, but it was only an expedient measure. Now th e conditions for negotiated solutions are gradually coming to maturity . There might be three options for the settlement. The first would be to come to an agreement on boundary delimitation through negotiation i n a spirit of mutual understanding and mutual accomodation. The second one is to agree to put this issue to the International Court of Justi ce for arbitration or to accept other forms of third-party involvement . The third would be to work for joint development in the disputed are as. The sea areas around the Diaoyudao Islands seem of low prospect in oil and gas reserves, but the sea areas near the Islands and on the d isputed relevant continental shelf do have good prospects. The third o ption looks to be the most feasible approach at present.