1st Edition
The China-Japan Conflict over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands Useful Rivalry
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
CHAPTER ONE: Contested Territory
The dispute: what it is and why it matters
An expression of competitive politics in East Asia
Mining data on the dispute
Legal, historical and geographical evidence brought to sovereignty claim
Japan’s official position
The PRC’s official position
The US official position
CHAPTER TWO: Neo-Classical Realism and Managed Strategic Confrontation
Theorizing foreign policy
Neoclassical realism
China and Japan as ‘useful rivals’: managed strategic confrontation
A focus on nationalism
Foreign and Security Policy Actors
CHAPTER THREE: The Islands’ Economic and Strategic Value
Economic value of the islands: EEZ and resource exploitation
Strategic value of the islands
The islands and China’s growing maritime power
The islands and Japan’s shift towards greater activism
CHAPTER FOUR: The Cold War Phase of the Dispute
1970s—Scrambling for oil or global recognition?
The islands and the reversion of Okinawa (1971)
The islands, diplomatic normalisation (1972) and the Treaty of Peace and Friendship (1978)
Analysis: the islands are neither a priority, nor are they in reach
The islands, US ambivalence and the Taiwan issue
The islands and peripheral Chinese nationalism
1980s: Bilateral tensions and quiet around the islands
CHAPTER FIVE: The Post-Cold War Phase of the Dispute
1990 and 1996 cycles of the islands crisis: bilateral restraint
2004-2005 cycle of the islands crisis: Beijing sanctions limited domestic activism
2010 cycle: the issue becomes highly politicized
2012 cycle: Japan’s transfer of ownership
Crisis
Biography
Anna Costa completed her doctorate at the University of Hong Kong. Her research centres on the contemporary international relations of East Asia. She is an Honorary Assistant Professor of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, Department of Modern China Studies, of The University of Hong Kong.
