Sir, – The letter “Status of Senkaku Islands” (Kojiro Uchiyama from the embassy of Japan in Ireland, September 4th) shows no respect to the true historical facts and misleads your readers on the Diaoyu Islands issue. I express strong dissatisfaction at his letter undermining China’s territorial sovereignty.
The Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islands have been China’s inherent territory since ancient times and were first discovered, named and used by the Chinese. Voyage With a Tail Wind, a book published during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), was one of the earliest historical records of the Diaoyu Islands. Chouhai Tubian (An Illustrated Compendium on Maritime Security) marked coastal islands under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty’s coastal defence including the Diaoyu Islands. This is solid proof that these islands have been under the jurisdiction of China’s naval defence as far back as the Ming Dynasty. From a geographical perspective, the Diaoyu Island and affiliated islands are separated by the Okinawa Trough, which is as deep as over 2,000 meters, from the Ryukyu Islands to the east. The Kuroshio Current, flowing from southwest to northeast through the Okinawa Trough, makes it technically challenging in ancient times for boats to approach the Diaoyu Islands from the east side of the trough. The Japanese maps published prior to the mid-19th century had marked the Diaoyu Islands and China’s mainland with the same colour. And even the Maps and Names of Provinces and Cities in Japan published in 1892 did not include the Diaoyu Islands in the Japanese territory. Japan didn’t claim sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands until the Sino-Japanese war in 1895, and it stole these islands through illegal means. It is obvious that the claim that the Diaoyu Islands are Japan’s inherent territory is totally untenable.
The Cairo Declaration provides that all Chinese territory illegally taken by Japan, including the Northeast, Taiwan and Penghu Islands, must be returned to China. The Potsdam Proclamation provides that “the terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out”. Japan announced unconditional surrender under the terms of the Potsdam Proclamation in August 1945, which means that Japan must return Taiwan and its affiliated islands, including the Diaoyu Islands, to China.
On September 18th, 1951, then Chinese premier and foreign minister Zhou Enlai made a solemn statement on behalf of the Chinese government that the Treaty of Peace with Japan signed in San Francisco was illegal, invalid and could under no circumstances be recognised by the central government of China as China was excluded from its preparation, formulation and signing. On June 17th, 1971, Japan and the US made secret dealings over China’s territory by signing the Okinawa Reversion Agreement which included the Diaoyu Islands into the “territory for reversion”. In response, the ministry of foreign affairs of China issued a statement on December 30th, 1971, saying that the agreement was a blatant violation of Chinese territorial sovereignty and would not be tolerated by the Chinese people.
From the above-mentioned historical facts we can come to realise that the letter by Kojiro Uchiyama saying China’s claims “only date back to the latter half of the 1970s when the question of oil resources on the continental shelf of the East China Sea began to emerge, and until then no objection to Japan’s valid control of the Senkaku Islands was expressed by any country at any time” is confusing right and wrong and telling lies deliberately.
Over the past few months, the Japanese government has made several moves related to the Diaoyu Islands issue, including the so-called “purchase” of the Diaoyu Islands. Any unilateral move made by Japan with regard to the Diaoyu island and its affiliated islands is illegal and invalid and cannot change the fact that these islands belong to China. The Chinese government is resolute and determined in safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity. We demand the Japanese side immediately stop all acts that may infringe upon China’s territorial sovereignty. Japan should truly come back to the very understanding and common ground reached between the two sides, and should return to the track of negotiated settlement of the Diaoyu Islands issue. China will take necessary measures to safeguard national sovereignty in light of the developments. – Yours, etc,