United Nations

Security Council

S/2014/001

24 February, 2016

REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

CONCERNING THE ISLAND DISPUTE BETWEEN

JAPAN AND THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

INTRODUCTION

1.  It is my duty under Articles 35 and 99 of the United Nations Charter to bring to the attention of the Security Council a territorial dispute between Japan and the People’s Republic of China, a dispute which threatens political and economic stability in the East China Sea and, if not addressed, may threaten international peace and security. Japan and China’s argument over who controls the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands has led to a meeting of the Security Council to address the issue as soon as possible.

2.  This is a report on the background of the situation and a summary of recent events for your consideration.

3.  I am sure that the Council will wish to consider this matter at the earliest possible moment in exercise of its primary responsibility in the maintenance of international peace and security.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

4.  The People’s Republic of China, commonly known as China, is located in central East Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north, India to the south, and Japan and the Koreas to the east. China is the world’s third largest country in size, and largest country in population with over 1.3 billion people, about 20 percent of all the people in the world.

5.  Over 90 percent of China’s people live in the eastern half of China; this has most of China’s major cities and nearly all the land suitable for farming. Agriculture is the chief economic activity in China. Most people live in rural villages, and over half of all workers are farmers. However, China has some of the world’s largest cities, including Shanghai and Beijing, the capital city. About 100 cities in China contain more than one million people.

6.  China is one of the world’s oldest living civilizations, with a written history that goes back about 3500 years. Centuries of Chinese culture and technology is regarded highly.

7.  About 92 percent of Chinese people belong to the Han nationality. The most common spoken language in China is Mandarin Chinese. Religion is tolerated but restricted by the Communist government of China. Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism have been major religions throughout most of China’s history. The religious beliefs of many Chinese include elements of all three. Confucianism is more a moral code than a religion, stressing the importance of ethical standards and a well-ordered society. Confucians believe that people can perfect themselves through study, and the Chinese always have prized education and respected scholars.

8.  A single political party, the Communist Party, controls China’s government. About five percent of China’s people are members. The party has four main administrative bodies. (1) The National Party Congress has nearly 3000 representatives selected by party members. (2) The 200-member Central Committee consists of leading party members and is selected by the National Party Congress. The Communist Party constitution states that these two bodies are the most important in China’s government, but in truth, they have little real power. In general, they automatically approve party policies set by (3) the Politburo, about 25 top party leaders elected by the Central Committee. The Politburo and its Standing Committee, a smaller group within the Politburo made up of some of the most important members of the Communist Party, are the true government of China. (4) The Secretariat serves as China’s executive branch of government and carries out the regular activities of the party. The highest post in the Communist Party is general secretary, who serves as head of the Secretariat.

9.  China has the world’s second largest economy, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP). But in terms of GDP per capita, China still ranks in the lower half of nations, and many economists still consider China a developing country economically. The national government exercises much control over China’s economy. In controls the most important industrial plants, operates most of the nation’s banks, and directs foreign trade. It also sets the prices of certain key goods and services. China’s government makes national economic plans that cover five-year periods. These plans determine how the government will work to improve different areas of the economy. Over the past two decades China has achieved an unparalleled record of economic growth.

10.  Manufacturing and mining are the largest categories of economic activity in China. International trade is vital to China’s economic development. China’s primary imports (purchases) are machinery and other technology to modernize its economy. Other leading imports are chemicals, metals, petroleum and plastics. China exports (sells) more than it imports. China’s main exports are clothing, electronics, food, furniture and toys. Much of China’s international trade passes through Hong Kong. China’s chief trading partners include Germany, Japan, South Korea and the USA.

HISTORIC BACKGROUND

11.  Japan’s Tokugawa Period stretched from about 1600 to the 1860s. Power was centralized in a hereditary “shogunate” that controlled the government, the economy and religion, and subordinated the nobility. Japan became intentionally isolationist and avoided international affairs. This was a peaceful and prosperous era in Japan.

12.  Japan’s Meiji Period began in the 1860s. After being virtually forced into trade agreements with the U.S., new leadership ended the feudal economic system and worked to transform an isolated, underdeveloped country into a world power with Western models of democracy and capitalism.

13.  Significant industrial development, economic growth and nationalistic pride spurred Japan to become an imperial power. Tension over the Korean Peninsula led to the Sino-Japanese War with China in 1894 and the Russo-Japanese War with Russia in 1904. With victory in these wars, Japan became the dominant power in the Far East and, by 1910, Japan formally annexed Korea, Taiwan and Manchuria to their empire.

14.  The Japanese military moved into China in 1931 and formally declared war on China in 1937. Japan controlled the coast and major cities in China, but never was able to defeat China outright before Japan became embroiled in World War Two, primarily against the United States.

15.  After World War Two in 1945 a civil war in China between nationalists and communists resumed. In 1949, defeated nationalists fled to the island of Taiwan and establish the Republic of China, while the communist People’s Republic of China was established on the mainland.

16.  After World War Two Japan was seen as an important ally of the U.S. during the Korean War and the Cold War. The peace treaty signed by the two nations in 1951 ensures that the U.S. may maintain a naval force on Japanese lands, and the U.S. will provide defense for Japan if necessary. The two nations remain close allies today.

17.  Japan angered China by maintaining relations with the Republic of China in Taiwan after World War Two, but in the early 1970s Japan followed the U.S. lead and established relations with China.

18.  In 1978 Deng Xiaoping became the paramount leader of China and served until 1992. Under his leadership China transformed from a command economy to a mixed economy with capitalist features. As a result, China has emerged as a world economic powerhouse today.

THE ISLAND DISPUTE

19.  Five tiny, uninhabited islands just north of Taiwan in the East China Sea are known as the Senkakus in Japan and the Diaoyus in China.

20.  China claims discovery and control of the islands since 1534. Historically China has used them as maritime navigational markers. Japan responds that China never subjected them to administrative control other than the recording of their geographical positions on maps.

21.  Japan claims to have annexed the islands in 1895 after defeating the Chinese in the Sino-Japanese War. In 1900 a Japanese fish processing plant was established on the islands, employing over 200 workers.

22.  Japan claims to have lost the islands when it surrendered to the U.S. at the end of World War Two, but that after 27 years of U.S. administration, the U.S. returned the islands to Japanese control in 1972. China responds that Japan surrendered authority over the islands in its post-World War Two peace treaty.

23.  China counters that the islands are part of Taiwan, and that when Taiwan was returned to China after World War II, the islands returned with Taiwan. (Japan had “won” Taiwan in the first Sino-Japanese War in 1895, but lost Taiwan when it lost World War II.)

24.  Following the 1968 discovery of undersea oil reserves near the islands, both China and Japan’s competing claims to the islands have become more pronounced.

25.  In the 1970s, the Japanese government agreed to sell three of the uninhabited islands to the Kurihara family. The remaining islands were still considered property of the national government.

26.  In September 2012 Japan bought back three of the five islands. China saw this as a provocation and began running Chinese ships and planes near the islands. Japan responded by scrambling fighter jets.

27.  In November 2013 China declared the airspace around the islands to be part of a new Chinese “Air Defense Identification Zone,” (ADIZ) so that all aircraft intending to enter the zone must check with China or face “defensive emergency measures.” Days later the U.S. flew military bombers through the zone without first communicating with China. The U.S. also confirmed that the islands are covered by its mutual defense treaty with Japan. South Korea and Australia have expressed concern about the Chinese action.

28.  In December 2013 China sent its new aircraft carrier and other warships to the South China Sea. China has disputes over other islands in that sea with Vietnam and the Philippines, and these two countries accuse China of pursuing its territorial claims ever more aggressively. Some are concerned that China will establish a similar ADIZ zone of influence there.

SECRETARY-GENERAL’S RECOMMENDATIONS

29.  My recommendation to the Security Council is to:

  1. Respond to China’s establishment of a new ADIZ in the East China Sea.
  2. Suggest incentives the U.N. may offer to address the dispute.
  3. Suggest consequences for the U.N. to endorse if nations involved in the dispute turn aggressive.

30.  I express my faith in the Security Council’s capacity to understand with sensitivity the issues involved in the current standoff, as well as in the Council’s ability to encourage agreement among the parties involved in negotiation so that a long-term, peaceful settlement may be reached.