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| Image courtesy of Wikimedia via Creative Commons License, Jackopoid |
Yesterday, Eric Posner wrote
a compelling and helpful article on Slate about the
simmering conflict between China and Japan over the Senkaku Islands (or Diaoyu Islands from the Chinese perspective). In
his analysis Japan has the stronger claim by International Law, but also concedes
that such norms men little to China, and that much of geopolitics is still
might makes right.
While friction between China
and Japan warrants international attention, both diplomatic and otherwise, why
strategically, should the Unites States care? The primary reason is that the
first major crisis to test the “pivot to Asia” that President Obama has
initiated may not happen in North Korea, but in the East China Sea.
The islands aren’t just the
subject of a dispute between staunch U.S. ally Japan and longtime “frenemy”
China, but are also hugely symbolically important to Taiwan and its
international status. These islands are 170 km off the coast of Taiwan. China’s
claims to the islands rest on the islands being part of the breakaway province
of Taiwan. Taiwan of course still considers itself the rightful government of
all of China in exile, in its official rhetoric, but popular opinion favors a
Taiwan as an independent country. Taiwan also thinks the islands belong to it.
While the U.S. recognizes Beijing
as the official government of China, the Taiwan straight has long been a line
in the sea that the U.S. does not want Beijing to cross. Conflict between any
of these actors would bring the U.S. into conflict with China as a result of
treaty obligations and strategic interest. The situation is not completely
dissimilar to the global web of alliances that helped bring about World War I.
The islands are used as
fishing grounds and may have a variety of oil and natural gas deposits, but
mostly they are symbolic of global and regional strength. China is still trying
to overcome its epoch of humiliation when Japan and the Western powers
exploited a weak and corrupt government.
Whatever happens here, the
strength of the U.S.’s commitment to its pivot to Asia will be tested.
Another excellent article
about this conflict can be found at the National Geographic website.
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Jason McBride is the creator of the Intellectual Ninja and the Scourge of Scoundrels series. He is also the author of Watch Out For Sneaker Waves. He is currently hard at work on his first book of fiction, available Spring 2014.
He is the proud father of four amazing children and the happy husband of one wife. He aspires to be an extreme sleeper.
