The United States appears perplexed over a series of territorial
disputes involving its key Asian allies and partners amid their mounting calls
to exert its diplomatic clout to support their claims.
Mindful of the sharply
conflicting interests in the disputes, Washington has so far taken a cautious
stance, reiterating that the concerned parties should work things out
“peacefully through dialogue”.
As states are jockeying to secure
more strategic maritime interests in the region where untapped resources are
buried and crucial sea lines of communication run, these issues have become
more intractable. This calls for America’s sophisticated exercise of diplomacy,
experts pointed out.
“Asia has yet to completely
settle their historical issues, causing such territorial disputes to rage on
and get in the way of their moves for bigger regional cooperation,” said Kwon
Tae-young, adviser to the non-profit Korea Research Institute for Strategy.
“It is not what we used to simply
call islands and waters. It is a crucial trove of untapped resources presumed
to be buried in waters near islands such as the Kuril Islands and others in the
East and South China Seas.”
In particular, the recent war of
words between America’s core allies of South Korea and Japan over Dokdo has
apparently embarrassed Washington as it could hamper its deepened engagement in
the strategically vital region.
The dispute over a chain of
islands in the East China Sea, called Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in
Chinese, is also putting Washington in a diplomatically difficult position with
Tokyo actively seeking Washington’s backing for its claim.
Tokyo officials have reportedly
demanded that Washington reaffirm that America’s commitment to the defence of
Japan is applicable to the disputed islands under their Mutual Cooperation and
Security Treaty signed in 1960.
The application means military
intervention from America in the event of an armed attack on them. The demand
comes as the two allies are said to be in negotiations over a revision to their
defence cooperation guidelines.
The US basically recognises
Japan’s control of the islands although it does not speak out about it in
consideration of its diplomatic and economic relations with China.
The islands were temporarily
under America’s control after the San Francisco Peace Treaty was signed in 1951
to officially end World War II. Washington returned them to Japan in 1972.
Japan first incorporated them into their territory after the Sino-Japanese war
in 1895.
Amid Japan’s efforts to
capitalise on its decades-old alliance with the US to resolve the dispute,
China has also sent a clear message against Washington’s support for Japan’s
claim.
A Chinese military delegation
visiting the US has reportedly told US officials that Beijing is against
Washington’s application of the US-Japan pact to the defence of the disputed
islands.
Observers said that Beijing might
feel nervous as Washington has sought to keep it in check amid its allies and
partners’ calls to help settle a string of maritime disputes in the South China
Sea.
The US has presented a warning
message to China, stressing the importance of the “freedom of access and
navigation in the rule-based regional order.”
But for the US apparently
adopting a policy of both engaging and checking a rising China, being dragged
into any regional territorial spat is very burdensome, experts said.
“The US needs China and
vise-versa. Embarrassed over the dispute, the US may continue to resort to
diplomacy and rhetoric to defuse tension and resolve the issues peacefully. But
of course, when things get out of hand, Washington could use its military to
protect its partners,” said Kwon of the KRIS.
The US also appears to be
carefully watching the Russia-Japan dispute over four islands in the southern
part of the Kuril Islands due to the two powers that play influential roles in
the regional security contours.
Two Russian warships are sailing
around the islands. It claims that the move is part of a usual event to
commemorate its fallen sailors, but speculation has been sparked that Moscow
seeks to further strengthen its control of the disputed islands.
The biggest headache for the US
is the continuing row over Dokdo, analysts said. As the US is refocusing on the
economically vibrant region amid the rise of China, experts say Washington
might have to capitalise on its key allies of Korea and Japan.
But securing cooperation between
Seoul and Tokyo has been a tough task amid their historical animosity stemming
from Japan’s 1910-45 colonisation of the Korean Peninsula.
Analysts say that Tokyo could
continue to take a tough stance over Dokdo ahead of possible parliamentary
polls in October or November.
Japan incorporated the islets as
part of its territory in 1905 before colonising the entire peninsula. Korea has
been in effective control of them since its liberation in 1945.
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