Japan's Purchase of Disputed Islands: Fallout and Misperception

Despite numerous channels for communication and abundant supply of information, misperceptions occur in international politics, and the recent interaction between Japan and China over a group of disputed islands is a case in point. Their quarrel has intensified, leading to a sudden deterioration of civil and official ties, with effects felt in the political and economic realms, and repercussions on the overall relationship. Although some would argue that both sides do not have a better choice, their interaction reveals certain misperceptions and therefore other possibilities. This article surveys the actual conditions after Japan's decision to nationalize the disputed islands in 2012, illustrates misperceptions on both sides in their interaction based on those findings, and probes into the possible causes of such misperceptions.     

The Northern territories: Source or symptom?

The issue of the Northern Territories has often been described as the “centerpiece” of Soviet-Japanese relations, and this is seemingly reflected in the forty-five years of postwar diplomatic history between the soviet Union and Japan. At the same time an examination of the actual legal and strategic problems surrounding the islands sheds little light on why they have been so persistently unamenable to resolution, unlike, for instance, the Sino-Soviet border dispute, or the Sino-Japanese islands dispute. This article suggests turning the argument on its head—that is, that the islands dispute is a symptom, not a source, of the tension that has been generated by the timing and course of modernization taken by these two neighbors in the context of the contemporary international situation. The research for this article was conducted while the author was a master’s degree candidate at the Russian Research Center at Harvardy University, under the supervision of Professor Susan Pharr.     

China's Strategy in the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands Dispute: Issue Linkage and Coercive Diplomacy

Abstract

For almost four decades, China has disputed Japan's sovereignty of several small rocky islands in the East China Sea. Despite a June 2008 joint gas development agreement, China continues to claim sovereignty and the dispute is nowhere close to being resolved. This study proposes that China benefits from the endurance of the dispute because it can use territorial dispute threats to compel Japan to change its behavior or policy on other disputed issues. The results show that China gained concessions on other issues by using the territorial dispute as bargaining leverage in most of the 26 threats made between 1978 and 2008.     

印尼爪哇与外岛资源分配的不公:民族关系视角的解读

苏哈托时期印尼的资源在爪哇族与外岛民族之间的分配,主要采取中央与地方财政分割的形式.其分配格局是:爪哇独占鳌头而外岛只分得残羹剩饭,它是主体民族与少数民族政治-文化不平等在经济领域的投影,反过来又深刻地影响着印尼的民族关系.本文将政治-文化与经济利益的纠结,作为探索资源分配与民族关系互动的切入点,并试图循此路径使问题的分析达到一个新的境界.     

The Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands Crises of 2004, 2010, and 2012: A Study of Japanese-Chinese Crisis Management

The diplomatic situation between Japan and China over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands has become increasingly precarious over the past decade. Weak diplomatic ties and lack of trust between the two nations has made a clash not only more likely, but also unlikely to be effectively contained. This article compares the events and management of three diplomatic crises concerning the islands, including the deportation of Chinese activists who landed on the islands in 2004, the detention of a Chinese fishing boat captain who collided with a Japan Coast Guard vessel in 2010, and the 2012 nationalization of three of the islands by the Japanese central government. These case studies reveal the lack of reliable high-level communication mechanisms between Tokyo and Beijing, diminishing back-channel diplomacy and the asymmetrical influence of each respective Foreign Ministry as just a few of the structural barriers to effective Sino-Japanese crisis management.     

Beyond polarity in Zanzibar? The ‘silent’ referendum and the government of national unity

On 31 July 2010 the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar held a referendum to decide on the government of national unity so as to end the impasse between the two main political camps, each dominating one of the two islands of Unguja and Pemba. The outcome of the referendum was that the majority of Zanzibaris voted in favour of the government of national unity. This article revisits how the referendum was carried out in terms of observing the basic principles of a democratic referendum and whether the referendum would be a panacea for the polarisation between the two islands. The main argument held here is that the referendum fell short of observing some of the basic principles of a democratic referendum since it systematically suppressed the voices of those who opted for a ‘No’ vote. Besides this, the government of national unity created after the referendum was in essence the unity of the two major political parties, namely the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and the Civic United Front (CUF). Relatedly, some of the fundamental issues causing polarisation are yet to be tackled, a situation which, if not addressed in time, would make this polarity a likely facet of Zanzibar's future politics.     

“A disagreement between allies”: The United Kingdom,the United States,and the Soviet-Japanese territorial dispute, 1945–1956

Russian-Japanese relations are frozen in time by their territorial dispute over the Kuril Islands. In untangling the dispute, scholars have studied the history of Russo-Japanese relations, the USSR’s annexation of the islands in 1945, and the role of the United States as the USSR’s erstwhile wartime ally and Japan’s postwar partner. The United Kingdom, a key player in 1945, has been neglected in these studies. This article analyzes the evolution of the British position on the Soviet-Japanese territorial dispute from 1945 to the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1956. The article reveals the marked divergence in this position from that of the United States, proceeding from a disagreement over the interpretation of the 1945 Yalta Agreement. In addition, the article highlights the manipulation of the territorial dispute by the United States to further its own political and security objectives and the British reaction to these maneuvers. Her recent publications includeBack in the USSR: Russia’s Intervention in the Internal Affairs of the Former Soviet Republics and the Implications for United States Policy Toward Russia (with Pamela Jewett) (John F. Kennedy School of Government, 1994).     

Australia,New Zealand and the Pacific Islands Forum: a critical review

The relationship between the Pacific islands and the region’s ‘bigger brothers’ – Australia and New Zealand – is often seen in two-dimensional terms with the latter appearing to act in concert and in terms characterised by underlying neo-colonial attitudes and a determination to dominate the regional agenda. Given that both are former colonial powers with considerable political and economic resources and are the major aid donors in the region as well as being members of the powerful geopolitical entity known as ‘the West’, it is not difficult to sustain an image of neo-colonial dominance. But to do so also requires casting Pacific island countries in a certain role, not only lacking agency but also cohering around a common identity and set of interests. This article examines key aspects of regional relations as played out through the region’s premier organisation, the Pacific Islands Forum, and assesses the extent to which a simple political divide between Australia and New Zealand on the one hand, and the island states on the other, can be maintained.     

Maritime Disputes,Sovereignty and the Rules‐Based Order in East Asia

In recent years, maritime sovereignty disputes have become highly visible microcosms of broader contests between security orders in East Asia. Escalating tensions over seas provoke questions about how historical and territorial conceptions of sovereignty map onto maritime areas, and the continuing effectiveness of the so‐called “rules‐based order” in maintaining regimes for deciding jurisdiction of islands, rocks and other maritime land features. The paper examines sovereignty claims and the international law of the sea across various cases, including the contested claims over Dokdo/Takeshima, Senkaku/Diaoyu Dao and China's nine‐dash line. These case studies reveal the tensions between two legal regimes: territorial rules of acquisition (sovereignty) and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). This article concludes by considering the ways that the symbolic nature of these disputes has implications for the capacities of UNCLOS and other legal instruments in the US‐led “rules‐based order” to establish orderly relations among states in the maritime arena.     

On Tourism and the Constructions of ‘Paradise Islands’ in Central America and the Caribbean

A comparative perspective of the tourism industry in the islands of Colón, Panama and Carriacou, Grenada is presented in this article. The islands have long histories of association with colonial powers, coupled with more recent histories of ‘discovery’ as tourist destinations. The historical constructions of ‘paradise islands' and the appropriation of tourism for nation‐building purposes in these territories are analysed. The discussion assesses the underlying reasons for the differing responses by African Caribbean populations toward tourism development, in spite of similar colonial and postcolonial histories.     

韩国强化无人岛管理的做法及对中国的启示

近年来,国际海洋权益形势的发展促使韩国不断调整其海洋政策,以不断拓展其海洋权益空间。在当前面临与周边国家进行海上划界的形势下,韩国尤其重视无人岛的管理,从出台相关法律政策和计划,到无人岛找寻、岛屿调查登记、基础海图制作等管理工作,努力最大限度地维护其海洋权益。韩国加强无人岛管理的法律和实践值得关注和研究,并值得我们借鉴。     

Scents of identity: Fragrance as heritage in Zanzibar

In 2000, UNESCO declared Zanzibar Stone Town a World Heritage Site. Since this time the Tanzanian government and international NGOs (based in Zanzibar) have participated in the rehabilitation of the town's buildings and other physical infrastructure. However, little attention has been paid to the rich intangible heritage of the islands and the fusion of cultural expressions in this part of the world. This paper considers the important role of fragrances in the identity construction processes of Zanzibar islanders. The author offers a brief history, theoretical discussion and detailed ethnography of fragrance in Zanzibar. She discusses its role in the varied constitution of identity, belief and in life cycle rituals. The author further argues that fragrance and other seemingly ‘mundane’ heritages attract little attention in the preservation process and yet these indicate important cultural continuities in the Indian Ocean region and form a vital part of heritage and the harmonisation of cultures on the islands.     

A New May Fourth Movement?

Abstract

April 10, 1970, is likely to be remembered as an historical date by overseas Chinese. On that day some 2,500 Chinese students and faculty descended on Washington from all over the United States and Canada. They came not just for another annual spring tour of the cherry trees, but to demonstrate against the policies of three governments–Japan, Taiwan and the United States. For Japan seized the Tiao-Yu Tai Islands from China last November, the United States supported Japan's claim, and the Chiang regime failed to take any effective action to get the islands back.     

“The Chinese Dream” and Chinese Foreign and Security Policies—Rosy Rhetoric versus Harsh Realities

The “China Dream” announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping’ in 2012 paints a very rosy picture of China under his seemingly undisputed leadership: China's economic and political rise will be beneficial to China and indeed the international community putting Beijing on top of the list of “peace-loving” countries. Reality, however, as it turned out over the last four years, is distinctively different as a number of countries in China's neighborhood and beyond can surely confirm. Indeed, Beijing unilaterally claiming and building civilian and military facilities on disputed islands in the South China Sea are arguably the very opposite of a peaceful contribution to world politics and security facilitated by the rhetorical hype of Xi's “Chinese Dream.” While outside observers can be excused for concluding that the “Chinese Dream” mantra is directed at the Chinese domestic audience to distract from the very many economic, environment and social problems within China, the consequences of Beijing's “dreaming” of re-gaining its former undisputed “Middle Kingdom” status in Asia are very much felt abroad. This, it is argued, could be the time when “dreams” turn into “nightmares” for those at the receiving end of Beijing's dream.     

Kamikazefication and Japan's wartime ideology

Abstract

A number of recent works have focused on the personal experiences of kamikaze pilots, but very little has been published in English on the Japanese government's effort to “kamikazefy” the civilian population in the final year of the Asian PacificWar (1937-45). To illustrate this effort, this article employs images taken from the author's personal collection of over 2,500 Japanese wartime publications (predominantly periodicals). In early 1945, the Japanese government announced a “fight to the death for the home islands,” in which civilian “home-front warriors” would fight alongside troops in the event of an Allied invasion. Civilian combatants were expected to follow the “no surrender” policy hammered into Japanese servicemen and to emulate the kamikaze pilots' spirit of supreme sacrifice. The article begins with a brief discussion of the ideology behind kamikazefication, inviting comparisons with suicide missions in other times and places. Historical context is further established by an overview of media accounts of Japanese suicide missions in the Asian PacificWar, beginning with the mission carried out at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. An analysis of media reportage shows how members of suicide missions were glorified and made into role models for all Japanese, even women and children. Servicemen who died for their country were enshrined at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo. The article concludes by suggesting reasons why civilians, even those who died fighting in the war, have not been similarly honored.     

The financial autonomy of the municipalities and the Valencian Parliament

SUMMARY

In the first half of the fourteenth century and on countless occasions, the Crown granted the leaders of the City of Valencia authorization to collect indirect taxes as a means of collecting the subsidies allocated to its military needs. The ratification of fiscal autonomy can be related to the Crown's interest in gaining control of municipal resources as a way of demanding donations in order to accomplish its policies.

The main reason for the royal privilege to raise taxes in favour of the cities was the extensive expenses caused by the conquest of Corsica and Sardinia during the reign of James II. The Kingdom and the city of Valencia came to the aid of the monarch because they were interested in trading with Sicily and these two islands were impeding trade routes. To make things easier, Alfonso IV granted them a privilege to levy taxes on the grain and meat trades and on merchant shipping within the municipal territory of the city of Valencia. The municipal tax on meat and grain was used as a model for the tax approved in the Cortes of 1329, extending it to exports everywhere in the Kingdom of Valencia. The tax approved by these Cortes, agreed in order to collect the subsidy offered to the monarch, was the first general tax validated in the Cortes following the model of the exisiting municipal tax. To mark the occasion of the war against Castile, Peter IV took a decisive step in 1363 and extended the capacity to levy taxes to all royal towns and cities. The municipalities turned indirect taxation into one of the basic pillars of their economy.     

Militarizing Japan’s Southwest Islands: Subnational Involvement and Insecurities in the Maritime Frontier Zone

Abstract

This paper sheds light on a relatively underexplored aspect of Japan’s recent security changes by examining the subnational level where the impact has been far-reaching. It focuses on Japan’s maritime frontier zone: the Yaeyama Islands located at the southwestern end of the Japanese archipelago and administered as part of Okinawa Prefecture. It argues that while Yaeyama militarization has been primarily a national response to China’s portrayed assertiveness in the East China Sea, it has also been facilitated by the strategic actions of local political elites, in cooperation with sympathetic extra-local forces. Political elites from two islands, Yonaguni and Ishigaki, have been motivated primarily by diverging material and ideational factors. Yonaguni elites have viewed militarization largely through the prism of “compensation politics.” Their counterparts in Ishigaki have been driven by more ideological objectives, seeking militarization for deterrence purposes and otherwise transforming the island into a rightist breeding ground in defence of Japanese territory. Yaeyama militarization has not only diminished enthusiasm for seeking autonomy and enhancing economic security through microregional cooperation, but has also enhanced local-level insecurities while creating and exacerbating divisions.     

Australia and the Secretive Exploitation of the Chatham Islands to 1842

The European discovery of the Chatham Islands in 1791 resulted in significant consequences for its indigenous Moriori people. The colonial Australian influence on the Chathams has received little scholarly attention. This article argues that the young colonies of New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land led the exploitation of the archipelago before its annexation to New Zealand in 1842. The Chathams became a secretive outpost of the colonial economy, especially the sealing trade. Colonial careering transformed the islands: environmental destruction accompanied economic exploitation, with deleterious results for the Moriori. When two Māori iwi (tribes) from New Zealand’s North Island invaded in 1835, Moriori struggled to respond as a consequence of the colonial encounter. Mobility and technology gained from the Australian colonies enabled and influenced the invasion itself, and derogatory colonial stereotypes about Aboriginal peoples informed the genocide that ensued. Hence this article writes the Chathams into Australian history and Australia into Chathams history, showing that discussions of the early colonial economy, environment, and genocide must consider the wider South Pacific context in conjunction with events internal to the colonies.     

From Mare Nostrum to Insula Nostra: British Colonial Cyprus and the Italian Imperial Threat

As part of its growing imperial aspirations that were part of the so-called Mare Nostrum attempt, the Italian Empire sought to build up nationalist propaganda on Cyprus. The irredentist activities and propaganda coordinated by the Italian Embassy in Cyprus alarmed the British governors and the Foreign Office. By drawing upon archival documents, this article analyses the evolution of the strategic importance of Cyprus for the British Empire, which began in response to the perceived threat posed by the Italian Empire during the interwar period. The main argument put forward here is that under these new circumstances Cyprus became a significant geostrategic possession for the British Empire. The Italian Empire, having colonised the Dodecanese islands of the Aegean Sea, was gradually making its presence felt in Cyprus in the 1920s and went on to do so more vigorously in the 1930s. The Italian ambassador was perceived as persona non grata by the British government in Cyprus. It was therefore difficult for the British Empire under the actual, or at least the perceived, threat of Italian influence to permit Cypriots to exercise their right of self-determination.     

The Changing Paradigm of Pacific Regional Politics

Abstract

Analyses of recent developments in Pacific regional politics have emphasized the role of ideas and new thinking about how the Pacific should engage in global and regional diplomacy (the so-called ‘paradigm shift’). These ideas include the call for regional self-determination, the claim that Pacific island states need to engage more assertively in global diplomacy, the call for a ‘genuine Pacific voice’ to be heard in global forums, recognition that a ‘one region approach’ need not be the best approach, the reconfiguring of diplomatic alliances to leverage Pacific island positions better in global forums, and embracing non-state actors as equal partners. The importance of this paradigm shift is that it challenges many prevailing stereotypes and assumptions about Pacific islands diplomacy. It recognizes and facilitates choices and alternatives. It emphasizes the imperative of being proactive and of taking responsibility for the challenges facing the Pacific islands; and being creative in finding solutions. This is a fundamentally empowering transformation. But in order to understand where this might lead, it is necessary to explore where this transformation has so far played out. Case studies at the national, regional and global levels give insights into the impact and potential of the new Pacific diplomacy.