Japan & China Argue about Oceanic Property Rights

source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article1977593.ece

Japan is claiming a few coral reefs 1,060 miles south of Tokyo in the Pacific Ocean. Japan desires control over the reefs in order to perform scientific studies on the reefs. For example, Japanese scientists are planning to graft millions of synthetic coral fragments to the reefs. However, Japan also desires the area for the fishing, mineral, oil, and gas resources in the area.

China draws upon the “Law of the Sea” to contest the Japanese claim to the reefs. The Law of the Sea states that an island is “a naturally formed area of land surrounded by water.” Following this interpretation, the coral reefs, even after being modified to rise above sea level by Japanese scientists, do not constitute for islands that can be laid claim to. Thus China argues that Japan can not claim the reefs as an economic zone nor limit Chinese exploration in the area. However, some political analysts view China’s interest to be not one of exploration but one of war. It may be the case that China simply wants greater maritime freedom in the case of war, especially with a conceivable war with Taiwan.

States are generally defined in terms of the territory they claim hold to – that is, the dry land, lakes, rivers, mountains, ports, etc. However, the claim to the ocean itself or coral reefs such as this are difficult to divide up among nations. As a result, territorial conflicts such as this are readily conceivable issues of international politics.

U.S. Opposing Japan Environment Proposal

 

Photo Caption:Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso address a press conference after EU-Japan talks at the Chancellery in Berlin.

Japan feels that it has the responsibility to advocate for environmental protection treaties, as it did with the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. At the recent G-8 Summit, Abe proposed that all nations agree in principal to reduce Greenhouse emissions by half by 2050.

The EU is more eager to cooperate with Japan’s proposal to half greenhouse emissions by 2050 than the United States. The United States argues that the proposal is unfair because it places a greater burden on developed countries than those that are in the midst of development, like its up and coming rival: China.

In this case the United States is afraid that China will simply free-ride, while the U.S. will lose economic ground by paying for cutbacks. It seems the United States is less concerned with the greater global good as it is with securing its position as number one.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070605/wl_asia_afp/germanyg8japaneu_070605180651

Abe Leveraging Seat in next G-8 Summit to gain Votes in Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe left for Europe on Tuesday, June 5th to meet with a number of European leaders and attend the next G-8 Summit to be held on Wednesday in Heiligendamm, Germany on the eastern Baltic coast.

The Group of Eight, or G-8, is a group of advanced industrialized democracies composed of the United States, Britain, France, Japan, Germany, Canada, Italy, and Russia.

The most pressing issues at the summit in Heiligendamm are expected to be Global Warming and Africa.

 However, Abe is bringing his own agenda to the meeting that has the bias of his desire to gain popularity in Japan and thus votes in the coming House of Councillors election next month.

“The G-8 is a good opportunity, so we hope to send out a strong message toward resolving the abduction issue to North Korea and to the international community,” he said.

In reality, Abe’s popularity has fallen recently due to the recent suicide of a cabinet minister. For this reason, Abe needs to bring results back to Japan that will revive their support. Abe plans to bring up North Korean nuclear, missile and abduction issues at the G-8 Summit in Germany, seeking reconfirmation of support from his G-8 counterparts. Also, Abe will have to demonstrate his democratic leadership skills in advocating for a new international framework to fight global warming beyond the 2012 time frame set by the Kyoto Protocol. By successfully gaining support for domestic Japanese interests, Abe can have confidence in the coming Japanese elections.

Yet in reality, it is not just Abe who will arrive at the G-8 Summit with his own agenda; leaders from every country will have their own domestic ambitions that will influence the direction of collaborative projects forged by the Group Eight countries. Nevertheless, the democratic nature of the G-8 countries is what allows for each leader to voice their opinion and domestic needs. Global efforts are thus shaped from the bottom up by numerous leaders collaborating together, rather than just a single hegemonic state.

 Source: http://asia.news.yahoo.com/070605/kyodo/d8pic1100.html