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United Nations
Security Council
S/2014/001
25 February, 2014
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 September 2012 Japan bought from a private owner 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.
26. 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.
27. 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
28. My recommendation to the Security Council is to:
a. Respond to China’s establishment of a new ADIZ in the East China Sea.
b. Suggest incentives the U.N. may offer to address the dispute.
c. Suggest consequences for the U.N. to endorse if nations involved in the
dispute turn aggressive.
29. 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.