The historical background to the territorial dispute over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands | ISPI
Skip to main content

Search form

  • INSTITUTE
  • CLERICI PALACE
  • CONTACT US
  • MEDMED

  • login
  • EN
  • IT
Home
  • INSTITUTE
  • CLERICI PALACE
  • CONTACT US
  • MEDMED
  • Home
  • RESEARCH
    • CENTRES
    • Asia
    • Cybersecurity
    • Europe and Global Governance
    • Business Scenarios
    • Middle East and North Africa
    • Radicalization and International Terrorism
    • Russia, Caucasus and Central Asia
    • Infrastructure
    • PROGRAMMES
    • Africa
    • Energy Security
    • Global cities
    • Latin America
    • Migration
    • Religions and International Relations
    • Transatlantic Relations
  • ISPI SCHOOL
  • Publications
  • EVENTS
  • BUSINESS PROGRAM
    • about us
    • Closed-door meetings
    • Scenario Conferences
    • Members
  • EXPERTS

  • Home
  • RESEARCH
    • CENTRES
    • Asia
    • Cybersecurity
    • Europe and Global Governance
    • Business Scenarios
    • Middle East and North Africa
    • Radicalization and International Terrorism
    • Russia, Caucasus and Central Asia
    • Infrastructure
    • PROGRAMMES
    • Africa
    • Energy Security
    • Global cities
    • Latin America
    • Migration
    • Religions and International Relations
    • Transatlantic Relations
  • ISPI SCHOOL
  • Publications
  • EVENTS
  • BUSINESS PROGRAM
    • about us
    • Closed-door meetings
    • Scenario Conferences
    • Members
  • EXPERTS
Analysis
The historical background to the territorial dispute over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands
17 June 2013

Despite the recent hike in attention devoted to a Sino-Japanese territorial dispute in the East China Sea, skirmishes between China and Japan over the control of the Senkaku/Diaoyu islets are nothing new. Periodically, tensions arise among Japan, China, and Taiwan over this small group of islets. This paper examines the legal grounds on which Japan’s claim to the islands rest. It emphasizes the historical ties that have led Japan to exercise administrative control over the islands. Tokyo does not acknowledge the existence of a territorial dispute with China over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands - something China is ardently trying to challenge. Beijing on the contrary has tactfully used the September 2012 purchase of the islands by the Japanese government to revamp its claim to administrative control of the islands by increasing its presence in the surrounding waters.  

Donatello Osti, Research Associate, International Peace & Security Institute, Washington DC.

 

Read the ISPI Studies - Territorial disputes in Asia. Many players, many tensions, and no solutions

Read more:

China-Africa Cooperation in the Aftermath of Covid-19
Yunnan Chen
Overseas Development Institute
The EU-Japan Strategic Partnership Agreement: Getting Down to Work, Finally?
Axel Berkofsky
Co-Head ISPI Asia Centre and University of Pavia
How China and EU Can Help Asia’s Post-Pandemic Recovery
Huiyao Wang
Center for China and Globalization
Japan: Engaging Africa Through Universal Values
Akio Takahara
JICA Ogata Research Institute
,
Atsushi Hanatani
JICA Ogata Research Institute
Challenges for International Trade in the Post-Pandemic Digital Age: A View From Japan
Eiichi Tomiura
Hitotsubashi University and Research Institute of Economy, Trade, and Industry
Pathways to Recovery in Post-Pandemic Asia

Tags

Asia China Japan Territorial disputes oil East and South China sea Taiwan Sino-Japanese war Senkaku/Diaoyu islands Shimonoseki Treaty
Versione stampabile
Download PDF

GET OUR UPDATES

SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER

About ISPI - Work with us - Experts - Contact - For Media - Privacy

ISPI (Italian Institute for International Political Studies) - Palazzo Clerici (Via Clerici 5 - 20121 Milan) - P.IVA IT02141980157