Tokyo seeks US vow of support in East China Sea, as dispute with Beijing heats up

In a sign of the significance of the issue for Japan, Tokyo has wasted no time in getting the new administration in Washington to confirm that disputed islands in the East China Sea are Japanese territory and that the US would come to Japan's assistance should that control be jeopardised.

Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser to new US President Joe Biden, held talks on Thursday with Shigeru Kitamura, the head of Japan's National Security Secretariat, on a range of issues. From Tokyo's perspective, the greatest concern was the Diaoyu Islands, known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan.

Sullivan reaffirmed the importance of the Japan-US security treaty, including Article 5. That key element of the deal stipulates US defence obligations to Japan, with Sullivan stating that in the Biden administration's view, the deal applied to the disputed islands, and the US would oppose any unilateral action that threatens to undermine Japan's administration of the islands.

Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga extracted a similar confirmation from Biden in November, immediately after it had become clear that he had won the US election, but this latest reiteration is designed to serve as a message to both a domestic and a foreign audience, say analysts.

"This is the issue that is at the very forefront of the Japanese government's thinking and concerns, because it is by far the most immediate threat to national security," said Jun Okumura, an analyst at the Meiji Institute for Global Affairs.

"And it is getting more critical by the day because of the repeated violations of Japanese territorial waters around the islands by Chinese government ships," he said. "This is the most urgent issue for Japan and the one that has the highest potential to become a hot conflict."

A Chinese maritime surveillance vessel (right) passes near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea in July 2013. Photo: Kyodo alt=A Chinese maritime surveillance vessel (right) passes near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea in July 2013. Photo: Kyodo

It comes as "no surprise" that Japan sought and obtained such an "unequivocal statement" on Washington's position on the disputed islands, he said. "I understand that there were concerns in some quarters about the language that might be used by the US, so Japan will be relieved that they now have such an explicit expression of support from the new government."

Officials in the Trump administration also reiterated the US' commitment to Article 5 and how it applied to the Diaoyus, with the previous president himself signing a joint declaration with former prime minister Shinzo Abe stating that the Japan-US Security Treaty covered the islands.

Barack Obama made a similar declaration, although his administration insisted that the US had no position on the question of their ultimate sovereignty.

Stephen Nagy, an associate professor of international relations at Tokyo's International Christian University, said the message from Washington went further than just the islands.

"This is a message for the Japanese public and the Chinese government," he said. "They are telling Japan that the US will adhere to the alliance and will be there to support the security of the islands. But the message to China is that this is just one part of the far larger security architecture in the region.

"The US is aware that if it does not take this stand on the Senkakus, then the broader security architecture could collapse," he said. "It is important that the Biden administration has vocalised its support for Article 5, and this also indicates that Washington has no intention of taking a soft approach to China in the region."

Washington's explicit support also coincides with Japan submitting a diplomatic note to the United Nations concerning China's unilateral occupation and development of disputed reefs and islands in the South China Sea, accusing Beijing of contravening UN conditions in territorial claims and of using those claims to restrict freedom of navigation and overflight in the region.

"This is not a coincidence," said Nagy. "This is a signal from Japan that it wants to work with international institutions and partners on territorial issues in the South China Sea as well as the East China Sea."

Nagy said China has "completely ignored" the outcome of the 2016 arbitration tribunal under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which ruled in favour of the Philippines that Beijing had "no historical rights" to shoals, reefs and ocean areas that China had recently occupied.

Due in part to its own competing claims to sovereignty with Beijing, Tokyo "wants to demonstrate that it is following international rules in its approach to these disputes", Nagy said.

Okumura believes Tokyo may have become emboldened by the anticipated stability of a Biden administration in comparison to its predecessor.

Former president Trump "shifted from being very accommodating towards the Chinese to being hawkish because he did not see the direct commercial benefits to him".

"There was never any consistency in the Trump administration and loyalty meant nothing to him, so Tokyo will welcome a return to diplomatic normality," Okumura added.

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

Copyright (c) 2021. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.