오키나와의 국제정치

Abstract

This study examines the history of international politics of Okinawa in terms of ‘geopolitical power politics’ in East Asia. Within this theoretical perspective, this study looks at the national destiny of the Rykyu Kingdom, the annexation of the Kingdom by the Meiji Japan, the imperial overextension of the Meiji Japan and its termination after the Battle of Okinawa, and Okinawa in terms of the US post-war East Asian strategy. Major findings of the analysis are as below. First, the national destiny of the Ryukyu Kingdom had been determined by the geopolitical power politics between China and Japan. Second, the Meiji Japan annexed the Kingdom as the power shift had been confirmed after the Taiwan Expedition in 1894. The annexation of the Ryukyu Kingdom marked the beginning of Japanese imperial expansion that was terminated at the Battle of Okinawa. Okinawa was the springboard for Japanese imperial expansion and also the last battlefield that terminated it. Third, Okinawa has been transformed into a key military base for the US post-war East Asian strategy. Finally, Geopolitical power politics proved to be a useful theoretical perspective in analyzing the history of international politics of Okinawa. If the Meiji Japan began its imperial intrusion into China by annexing the Ryukyu in late 19th century after the first power transition between China and Japan, the US now contains rising China by deploying Okinawa as a breakwater at the seas between the East China Sea and the Western Pacific after the second power transition between China and Japan.