DIIS seminar: China-Japan Relations and the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands Dispute

At the end of 2013, security tensions between China and Japan escalated over a small chain of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. Known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, the islands are claimed by both Asian powers, but have been under the control of Tokyo since the early 1970s.

But last November, Beijing declared an Air Defense Identification Zone to stake its claim over the islands. This sparked a strong rebuke from Japan, which sent military plans through the zone in response. Relations soured further in late December after Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, visited the Yasukuni Shrine.

Yasukuni pays tribute to Japan’s 2.5 million war-dead, but is seen as a symbol of Tokyo’s past militarization in East Asia because it also honours 14 Class-A World War II war criminals. The visit served only to further disturb troubled waters between China and Japan.

What are the historical claims of China and Japan to the islands? Could the dispute really lead the world’s second and third largest economies into a military conflict? Will the standoff continue or are there solutions to calm rising tensions?

This seminar will explore these questions and take a broader look at China-Japan relations. It is part of a seminar series on Global China and New Security Challenges to be held at DIIS throughout 2014.

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