CommentaryROC takes lead with East China Sea peace initiative (Staff photo/Chen Mei-ling)
As the eyes of the world are focused on sovereignty disputes in the South China Sea, trouble is brewing in the East China Sea over the Diaoyutai Archipelago. But the ROC showed its determination to contribute to settlement of the conflict when President Ma Ying-jeou unveiled his East China Sea peace initiative Aug. 5. Tensions in the region have been rising following Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara’s proposal to purchase the Diaoyutais, the Yoshihiko Noda administration’s plan to nationalize them and the application of Japanese parliamentarians for permission to land on the islands to hold a war memorial ceremony. Mass demonstrations have occurred in Japan and mainland China. Taiwan has stepped up maritime patrols in surrounding waters, and Beijing has conducted large-scale military exercises in the area. Issues in the two seas are markedly different. In the South China Sea, many island groups are involved, the problem is primarily an international one and U.S. influence is an important part of the equation. In the East China Sea, only the Diaoyutais are disputed, domestic politics are a factor and Washington has been content to sit by quietly.  (CNA photos)The more focused nature of the disagreement, along with nationalistic passions, makes for a more volatile territorial conflict among Japan, mainland China and Taiwan, leaving none of the countries in the mood to develop a mechanism for multilateral talks, and no international power to act as a lubricant. In the South China Sea, a mechanism for talks on security is already in operation, supported by the Association of Southeast Asian Nation’s 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, formulated in July. Although these pacts are nonbinding, the claimant parties in the East China Sea, in contrast, have no agreements to govern multilateral talks on the region. Between now and year-end, if the Japanese government cannot subdue the right wing’s agenda on the Diaoyutais, and other countries remain unwilling to restrain their actions, armed conflict in the East China Sea is not an impossibility. In response to this tension, the ROC initiative calls for all parties to refrain from antagonistic conduct; shelve controversies and maintain dialogue; observe international law and settle disputes through peaceful means; create a code of conduct; and establish a mechanism for cooperation on exploring and developing the region.  The proposal skillfully expands the issue from the sensitive question of sovereignty over the Diaoyutais to one of development of the entire East China Sea, thus transcending the impasse resulting from nationalism and territorial claims; it also refocuses attention onto economic resources, thereby involving the business community, depoliticizing and demilitarizing the issue, and stimulating other countries’ willingness to cooperate. Moreover, the initiative demonstrates ROC readiness to shelve claims to sovereignty and collaborate in regional development, effectively dispelling the popular notion that it would join hands with mainland China on the issue. The call for an East China Sea code of conduct also marks the ROC’s first proposed framework for cooperative action in the face of regional tensions, bolstering Taiwan’s right to speak up and be heard. Under the overarching principle of ROC sovereignty over the Diaoyutais, the initiative emphasizes cooperation over conflict and thus could resolve the standoff that results when each nation only looks out for its own interests, once again demonstrating the effectiveness of Taiwan’s viable diplomacy. (THN) Tsai Zheng-jia is head of the Division of Asia-Pacific Studies at the Institute of International Relations, National Chengchi University. These views are the author’s and not necessarily those of Taiwan Today. Copyright © 2012 by Tsai Zheng-jia Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw |
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