Unresolved Territorial Issues in the East China Sea

Dimitrijević, Duško (2018) Unresolved Territorial Issues in the East China Sea. The Review of International Affairs, LXIX (1169). pp. 83-105. ISSN 0486-6096

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Abstract

In the last decade, China, Taiwan and Japan have intensified their territorial claims in the East China Sea over the islands that the Chinese call Diaoyu, Taiwanese Diaoyutai, and the Japanese Senkaku (hereinafter: the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands). Due to the increasingly visible escalation in mutual relations arising from different points of view regarding the sovereignty of the mentioned islands and different approaches of the coastalstatesregarding the delimitation of the borders of exclusive economic zones and continental shelves where no party wants to make concessions to the other party, the application of international law seems inevitable mechanism for overcoming territorial disputes. This is very important because if the disputes are not settled peacefully and with the application of international law, it is quite certain that in the future, the relations between the coastal states will deteriorate. Along with this, there may also be stronger interference by the United States in disputes, which, as a great power, can use the existing situation to strengthen its own geo-strategic position and military presence, and then to ensure its own geo-economic interests in a global game for the energy resources in which this maritime region is quite rich. Hence, it is necessary for all parties in the territorial dispute to make additional efforts to reach solutions in accordance with the rules and principles of international law, which, in all likelihood, constitute an optimal guarantee of achieving lasting peace and security in this part of the world.

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