QuoteThe Asahi Shinbun (The Asahi Newspaper)
December 28, 2012
Beijing's insistence that the Senkaku Islands are undisputed Chinese territory is at odds with a diplomatic record drawn up by China in 1950 that indicates they are part of the Ryukyu Islands, the former name of Okinawa.
Sovereignty of the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea is at the center of a tense diplomatic standoff with Japan, which also claims the islands as its territory.
The Senkakus, a group of five uninhabited islets and reefs, are administered by Japan. Four of them are now state property following a government decision in September to purchase three of them from private ownership.
China calls the islands Diaoyu.
Domestic news agency Jiji Press said Dec. 27 it had uncovered a Chinese government document that clearly shows Beijing more than 60 years ago regarded the Senkakus as being part of the Ryukyu Islands.
Since 1971, immediately after natural resources were discovered in the area, Beijing has consistently argued that the islands are part of Taiwan, which China also regards as part of its territory.
Japan's decision to make the Senkakus state property triggered widespread protests across China. Since then, Beijing has presented "historical evidence" to support its territorial claim.
Jiji Press said it acquired an original photocopy of a 10-page document titled "Draft platform on issues and arguments in the parts concerning territories in the peace with Japan."
The document, Jiji Press said, stated that the Ryukyus "consist of three parts--northern, central, and southern. The central part comprises the Okinawa islands, whereas the southern part comprises the Miyako islands and the Yaeyama islands (Sento islets)." The parentheses appear in the original.
The first of the two Chinese characters that mean "Sento" are the same as the first character in "Senkaku." The appellation of "Diaoyu," which Beijing claims to have used consistently since olden times to refer to the islets, never appears in the document.
Lower down, the document says: "It should be studied whether the Senkaku Islands should be incorporated into Taiwan." The name "Senkaku" is used here.
The passages leave no doubt that Beijing regarded the Senkakus as part of the Ryukyus as of 1950.
It was only in December 1971 that Beijing made its first official claim to sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands. It has since reiterated that the Senkakus have been "affiliated islands of Taiwan" since ancient times and are part of territories that should have been returned to China.
Yang Yu, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Japan, told a regular news conference in Tokyo on Dec. 27 that the discovery of the document, even if it was true, did not affect Beijing's official stance over the Senkakus issue.
Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, also reiterated Dec. 27 that the Senkakus have been an integral part of China for centuries.
"We have sufficient historical and legal grounds for our sovereignty claims to the Diaoyu Islands," she told a news conference.
Separately from the latest discovery, the People's Daily, mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China, said in January 1953 that the Ryukyu Islands comprise seven groups of islands, including the "Senkaku Islands."
(Nozomu Hayashi in Beijing contributed to this article.)
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/asia/china/AJ201212280079
QuoteThe Japan Times
Friday, Dec. 28, 2012
BEIJING — A Chinese government document from 1950 appears to refute China's current claim to the Senkakus by indicating the islets are part of Japan's territory and referring to them by their Japanese name, a just-obtained copy revealed.
In the 10-page document revealed Thursday, China refers to the East China Sea islets by their Japanese name — instead of Diaoyu, as they are now called by Beijing — and describes them as part of the Ryukyu Islands, or modern-day Okinawa.
It is the first discovery of official documentation compiled by the Chinese government showing that China, or the Communist Party, previously acknowledged the Senkakus were under Japan's jurisdiction, and failing to lay any sort of claim to their sovereignty.
The report runs counter to Beijing's present assertion — amid its ongoing territorial row with Tokyo — that the islets, which were effectively nationalized by Japan in mid-September, are affiliated with Taiwan and are thus an inherent part of Chinese territory.
Found stored in the Chinese Foreign Ministry's archives, the document presents a draft outline of problems arising from sovereignty disputes with other nations, as well as China's contentions tied to a planned peace treaty with Japan.
It was completed on May 15, 1950, about 7½ months after the Communist Party founded the People's Republic of China. Beijing now argues that the Senkaku Islands have been known as Diaoyu since ancient times, but this appellation is nowhere to be found in the document.
In a section on the demarcation of the Ryukyus, the report refers to the islets by their present Japanese name, stating: "Whether the Senkaku Islands should be incorporated into Taiwan needs to be discussed."
In addition, in a part covering the planned return of the Ryukyu Islands to Japan's administration, the Chinese government states that the disputed islets form part of the Ryukyus and refers to them to them by the name "Sento," as they had been known in Japan for a long time.
According to the document, the Ryukyus comprised three parts, — north, central and south — of which the central area was considered the Okinawa Islands and the southern part "the Miyako Islands and the Yaeyama Islands (Sento)."
The document is "evidence that China's government at that time regarded the Senkaku Islands as part of the Ryukyus as a matter of course," University of Tokyo professor Yasuhiro Matsuda said. "The logic behind China's long-standing claim that the Senkakus are part of Taiwan has now completely collapsed."
China was considering whether to take part in international meetings to conclude peace treaties with Japan following the end of the war at the time the report was drawn up. In May 1950, China's Foreign Ministry held internal debates among 63 experts on territorial issues and it appears the newly unearthed document was submitted for discussion.
China declared its sovereignty claim on the Senkaku islet chain in December 1971, after a U.N. commission had reported three years earlier that rich undersea oil deposits may lie beneath their territorial waters. Since asserting its claim, Beijing has consistently argued the isles have been affiliated with Taiwan since ancient times.
The 1950 document has not been made public by Beijing, leading experts to suspect it has been intentionally withheld because it runs counter to China's current claim to the Senkakus.
Japan incorporated the Senkaku Islands as part of Okinawa in 1895, based on a Cabinet decision. After its defeat in the war, Japan gave up its ownership of Taiwan and certain other islands — but not the Senkakus.
China raised no objections when the islets were placed under U.S. administration based on the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty, which formally ended wartime hostilities between Japan and the Allied Powers. The Senkakus, along with other islands in what is now Okinawa, were returned to Japanese control by the 1971 Japan-U.S. pact on Okinawa's reversion.
When asked about the document's impact on ties, Suga said "Japan will keep attaching importance to a mutually beneficial strategic relationship (with China)."
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20121228x2.html
QuoteNHK World
A Japanese media organization reports that China recognized the Senkaku Islands as part of Japan's Ryukyu Islands in a 1950 diplomatic document.
Jiji Press ran the story on Thursday, after reportedly obtaining a copy of the document.
The report says the document is a draft outline on territorial issues for a peace treaty with Japan and was produced by the Chinese government in May of 1950.
In the document, the Chinese government reportedly refers to the islands in the East China Sea as the Senkaku Islands, instead of calling them Diaoyu, as it does today.
The Jiji article says the document contains descriptions recognizing the islands as part of what is now Japan's Okinawa Prefecture.
The document reportedly states that China needs to consider whether or not the islands should be incorporated into Taiwan.
China's foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Thursday that the Chinese government is not aware of the report. But she added that China's claims to sovereignty over the islands have sufficient historical and legal grounds.
China contends that the islands are part of Taiwan and has consistently referred to them as Diaoyu.
But the Jiji report casts doubt on this contention.
Dec. 28, 2012 - Updated 01:55 UTC (10:55 JST)
Quoteサーチナ 12月28日(金)11時28分配信
時事通信社は27日付で、中国（中華人民共和国）が1950年、「尖閣諸島は琉球（沖縄）に含まれるとす る外交関連文書を作成していたと報じた。同日、北京市内で行われた中国政府・外交部の定例記者会見では同件 についての質問が出たが、華春瑩報道官は「よく分からない」などとして直接の回答を避けた。外交部はホーム ページに掲載した定例記者会見の記録で、関連部分を削除した。
これまでも、中国が1971年に初めて「釣魚島（尖閣諸島の中国側通称）は中国領」と主張する以前に、共 産党機関紙の人民日報や、中国国営・地図出版社（当時）が「尖閣諸島は日本領」と解釈できる文章や図を掲載 したことがあったが、政府文書において「尖閣諸島は日本領」との記述が見つかったのは初めて。
「対日和約（対日講和条約）における領土部分の問題と主張に関する要綱草案」と題する文書で、「尖閣諸島 を台湾に組み込むべきかどうか検討の必要がある」と記述した。
中国政府は、「台湾は中国の一部」、「釣魚島は台湾の一部」、「日本は第二次世界大戦の敗戦の結果、台湾 本島などと同様に釣魚島も中国に返還して当然」と主張している。中国政府の公的文書に「尖閣諸島は琉球の一 部」との記述があれば、中国側の論法が崩れたことになる。
中国外交部が27日に行った定例記者会見では、同公文書の問題について質問が出た。華春瑩報道官は「報道 の状況がよく分からない」と述べた上で、尖閣諸島について「中国の主権は歴史的にも法的にも十分な根拠があ る」と主張した。
中国外交部は記者会見の様子をホームページ上で公開しているが、同日の定例記者会見で、「尖閣諸島にかん する質疑応答」の部分は掲載しなかった。
中国外交部は、週2回の定例記者会見の様子を公式サイトで掲載している。主に国内向けの情報公開の一環だ が、“微妙な問題”では削除する場合がある。
2010年4月6日の記者会見では、麻薬密輸罪で死刑が確定していた赤野光信死刑囚（65歳）に対する刑 執行にかんする質疑応答を、09年6月2日の記者会見では、発生後10年を迎える「天安門事件（89年6月 4日）」にかんする問答を削除した。02年の日本総領事館に北朝鮮から脱出した家族（脱北家族）が駆け込ん だ事件や、08年の「毒ギョーザ事件」でも、情報を掲載しなかった。（編集担当：如月隼人）
QuoteNHK News web
12月28日 9時36分
中国政府が１９５０年に作成した外交文書の中に「尖閣諸島は琉球の一部である」と認める記述があることが一 部報道で伝えられ、尖閣諸島をみずからの固有の領土だとする中国の主張の一貫性を疑わせるものとして波紋が 広がっています。
これは時事通信が、２７日、文書のコピーを入手したとして伝えたもので、それによりますと、問題の外交文書 は、１９５０年５月に中国政府が作成した「対日講和条約における領土部分の問題と主張に関する要綱草案」で す。
文書の中で、中国政府は、沖縄県の尖閣諸島について、現在中国が使っている釣魚島という名称を一切使わず「 尖閣諸島」と明記しているということです。
さらに、文書は尖閣諸島を現在の沖縄県に当たる「琉球の一部である」と認め、「尖閣諸島を台湾に組み込むべ きかどうか検討の必要がある」といった記述もあるということです。
この報道について、中国外務省の華春瑩報道官は２７日の定例会見で、「報道の状況がよく分からない」と述べ る一方、「中国の島に対する主権は歴史的にも法的にも十分な証拠がある」と反論しました。
中国政府は、これまで尖閣諸島について「台湾の一部であり、以前から釣魚島の名称を使っていた」と主張して いますが、今回の報道は、そうした主張の一貫性を疑わせるものとして波紋が広がっています。
Quote沖縄県・尖閣諸島（中国名・釣魚島）について中国が１９５０年に作成した外交文書の中で、「尖閣諸島」と 日本名を明記し、尖閣が琉球（沖縄）に含まれるとの認識を示す文言が含まれていたことが２８日、関係筋への 取材で分かった。
現在の中国は尖閣諸島を「台湾の一部」として自国の領土だと主張。５０年当時に中国が、琉球の一部と認識 していたことは現在の主張と矛盾しており、中国側にとっては領有権主張の根拠が揺らぐ内容。
関係筋によると、「対日和約（対日講和条約）における領土部分の問題と主張に関する要綱草案」との文書は ５０年５月に作成。関係筋は文書を本物とみている。
2012/12/28 22:06 【共同通信】
Of course they recognized Senkaku as Japanese territory before. The CCP covers up the fact.
http://eastbound88.com/showthread.ph...Senkaku-Diaoyu