Japan's Territorial Disputes: CNA Maritime Asia Project: Workshop Three

Abstract

Abstract : As part of its Maritime Asia project, the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) conducted a workshop focused on Japan's territorial disputes. The purpose of this workshop was to explore the security implications for Japan of its unresolved territorial disputes and the associated consequences for the U.S.-Japan alliance. Since, each of Japan's three unresolved territorial disputes with its near neighbors is usually addressed in isolation from the other two; we convened this workshop to explore the connections among the disputes. Japan's territorial disputes with China, South Korea, and Russia all find their origins in the 1952 San Francisco Peace Treaty, which ended the U.S. occupation of Japan after World War II. The treaty did not clearly establish Japan's maritime boundaries and was silent on the disposition of disputed territories. As a result, decisions reached by Washington 61 years ago have, in a sense, come back to haunt the United States in two of the three disputes: the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands dispute, because it raises the possibility of conflict with China; and the Dokdo/Takeshima Islands dispute because it contributes to continued enmity between South Korea and Japan, which are America's two Northeast Asian allies. While the U.S. cannot resolve Japan's territorial disputes, it has an interest in their stable management or, preferably, their peaceful resolution. At the same time, the U.S.-Japan alliance is central to Japan's security calculus, therefore the U.S. must remain ready to assist in the defense of Japan should it come under attack. This essay distills the most salient issues discussed during the workshop and addressed in more detail in the panelists papers compiled in this conference report. We begin by briefly discussing each of Japan's territorial disputes and the U.S. equities therein. Next, we examine the cross-cutting issues among the three disputes including their prospects for resolution.