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Peoples Daily Commentary Challenges Japans Claim on Okinawa
May 8, 2013, 8:08 PM
May 8, 2013, 8:08 PM
Amid a long-running territorial dispute between China and Japan over a small group of uninhabited islands, the Chinese Communist Partys main propaganda organ is questioning Tokyos historical claim on another piece of land long important to U.S. defense strategy: Okinawa.
The Peoples Daily newspaper on page nine of Wednesdays edition ran a lengthy and winding commentary by scholars at a prominent state-run think tank that called for a reconsideration of the historical status of Japans southernmost Ryukyu island chain, which includes Okinawa. The researchers argued foreign aggression toward China during its final Qing dynasty (1644-1911) weakened it to the point where it couldnt sufficiently oppose aggressive Japanese inroads in the broader region.
Historys unresolved questions relating to the Ryukyu have reached a time for reconsideration, the commentary read.
The Peoples Daily is widely viewed as the most influential of Chinas party-backed newspapers, and is seen as a useful gauge of the leaderships sentiments on many domestic and international issues when read over extended periods of time.
Nonetheless, individual commentaries dont necessarily reflect the views of top political leaders, and Beijing officials on Wednesday gave little indication that the commentary represents a potential shift in policy. A spokeswoman for Chinas Foreign Ministry wouldnt say at a daily briefing on Wednesday whether Chinas government believes Japan has legitimate sovereignty over the Ryukyu islands.
The Japanese government dismissed the commentary. Theres no doubt that [Okinawa] belongs to Japan historically and internationally, said Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga, describing the views expressed in the commentary as completely out of the question.
Still, the Peoples Daily commentary comes at a sensitive time. Japan and China have been locked in a period of elevated tensions since last year over sovereignty of uninhabited islands west of Japan that are called Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese. The long-running territorial dispute was reignited after Japans government decided to purchase the islands from private owners in September 2012.
China viewed the Japanese governments move as a direct challenge to its territorial claims, and subsequent harsh rhetoric from the Japanese stoked widespread anti-Japanese sentiment, which led to massive demonstrations and riots in some Chinese cities.
The paper which focused mostly on the issue of the Senkaku islands stopped short of calling Okinawa a part of China. Our so-called reconsideration is absolutely not saying the Ryukus belong to China or the Ryukus should belong to China, said Li Guoqiang, one of the authors of the commentary, in an interview on Wednesday.
Mr. Li, a researcher at the state-run Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the ongoing territorial dispute prompted his commentary. Were pointing out the facts, telling the Japanese government that if there are questions about the Ryukyus, then they cant even begin to talk about the Diaoyus, he said.
Following World War II, Okinawa emerged as a key base of U.S. military operations in the Asia-Pacific region, and it is a cornerstone of the longstanding U.S.-Japan security alliance. But the U.S. military has long faced local resistance from those who feel the island has shouldered too much of the burden for the U.S. presence in Japan. The U.S. and Japan have recently stressed the islands defensive role to local residents, citing rising tensions with China and North Korea and the role it has long played in U.S. regional defense strategy.
The islands were an independent kingdom for part of their history and a vassal state of both China and Japan during the 19th century, though Japanese and Chinese historians bicker over the details. They were formally annexed by Japan in the late 19th century.
