An International Law Analysis of China’s Sovereignty over The Diaoyu Islands

中国拥有钓鱼岛主权的国际法分析

Since the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and its related institutions have come into effect, the tendency of various countries to occupy islands has become increasingly strong and has caused conflicts. The Diaoyu Islands dispute is one of those conflicts. The Diaoyu Islands issue is Japan’s attempts to claim sea area on the basis of the Diaoyu Islands, and divide the continental shelf of the East China Sea equally with China. However, after analyzing the history and international law, it is clear that China has uncontestable sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands. Due to Japan’s long standing protestations regarding the Diaoyu Islands and their refusal to “put aside the disputes,” the negotiations between China and Japan cannot make progress and be reasonably solved. In fact, the United States (US) should bear some responsibility for this situation. The US has made the situation worse by ignoring China’s justice demands, violating the Agreed Principle and the purpose of trusteeship, and returning the Ryukyu Islands to Japan. In fact, the issue of the Diaoyu Islands’ sovereignty has already endangered or minimally influenced the peace and safety of East Asia. It is for these reasons The United Nations Security Council should take the responsibility to discuss this issue or perhaps apply for an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in order to confirm the territorial scope of Japan. The Chinese government expects to resolve the Diaoyu Islands issue through peaceful means. In order to prevent the Diaoyu Islands dispute from becoming an obstacle to the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations, the Japanese government should respect the history, facts and international laws, and should consult and negotiate with the Chinese government on the basis of equality, and fairness and deal with the controversy of the Diaoyu Islands issue reasonably, and share this resource with China.

随着《联合国海洋法公约》的生效及其相关制度的实施，各国霸占岛屿的态势日益强烈并引发冲突，钓鱼岛问题争议就是其中之一。钓鱼岛问题争议的爆发起源于对其周边海域的乐观估计，日本妄图以其为基点主张海域面积，包括与中国平分东海大陆架，从而强化对其的“管理”。但从历史和国际法的分析可以看出，中国对其拥有无可争辩的主权，其主权应完全回归中国。由于日本长期以来否定在中日间存在钓鱼岛问题争议，且否认“搁置争议”共识的存在，致使中日谈判工作无法获得进展并合理解决。在此，美国应承担违反国际义务的责任，包括无视中国的正义要求、违反同盟国一致同意原则及托管制度目的，非法地将其连同琉球“交还”日本，以及其适用《美日安保条约》的表态等，加剧了钓鱼岛问题解决难度。考虑到钓鱼岛问题危及或影响区域及世界的和平与安全，安全理事会应对其作出建议或向国际法院请求咨询意见，以合理解决钓鱼岛问题，并维持和确保二战后的国际秩序及胜利成果。中国政府仍希望通过和平方法解决钓鱼岛问题争议，为此，日本政府应尊重历史事实和国际法，与中国政府展开平等协商和谈判，以合理解决钓鱼岛问题，并共享海域资源，推进中日战略互惠关系发展。