Whose island is it? Territorial Issues in the Pacific Debra Troxell, NBCT Leslie Martin, NBCT West Forsyth High School.

Whose island is it? Territorial Issues in the Pacific

Debra Troxell, NBCTLeslie Martin, NBCT

West Forsyth High School

Identifying National Territory

• Draw a map of the United States -

Reasons to Claim Territories

• Fishing Rights

• Gas and Oil Reserves

• Shipping Lanes

• Nationalism

• Historic tensions (Japanese imperialism)

• Military Strategy

United Nations Convention on the Law

of the Seas (1982)

Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands

• 8 uninhabited islands in the East China Sea

• Ancient times – the Chinese province of Taiwan administered islands of “Diaoyu”

• 1895 – Sino-Japanese War, Taiwan was ceded to Japan; Japan claimed the “Senkaku Islands”

• 1951 – Treaty of San Francisco, Japan renounced the islands; China inquired about the islands but was not invited to the Treaty of San Francisco

Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands

• Renewed Interest:– Apr. 2012 – Tokyo governor planned to use

public money to buy 3 of the islands from a private Japanese owner. The national Japanese government stepped in and purchased

– Nov. 2013 – China announces a new air defense zone; Japan is ignoring it (since Japan doesn’t even recognize there is a dispute)

– Nov. 2014 – Japan and China have opened discussions on the topic

Lesson Ideas

• What happens to land acquired due to Territorial Expansion during imperialism or war?

• At what date/occasion does the map “reset”?

• How does the UNCLOS help determine ownership of uninhabited areas?

South China Sea

• Since 17th Cen. – Vietnam claims to have ruled the Paracels and Spratlys

• 1947 – China released map including the Paracels and Spratlys

• Taiwan, Brunei, Philippines & Malaysia also claim parts of the South China Sea

• Taiwan and Malaysia each claim part of the Spratlys

• Philippines claim the Scarborough Shoals• Brunei claims EEZ but no islands• The Spratlys have natural gas, seafood and oil

South China Sea

• 2014 – China creating new islands with plans to inhabit the new islands

Lesson Ideas

• Should created land be treated differently than existing land?

• Will China inhabiting the newly created islands change the perception of ownership of uninhabited areas?

• Does the presence of natural resources change the procedure?

Dokdo/Takeshima

• Territorial dispute between S. Korea and Japan

• Each country claims islands as early as 17th Century

• S. Korean Dokdo was annexed by Japan in 1905 and S. Korea claims it was rightfully restored after WWII.

• Japan claims the S. Korea illegally claimed the island after the San Francisco Treaty

Dokdo/Takeshima

• Japan has offered to bring the case to the International Court of Justice.

• S. Korea refuses claiming there is no territorial dispute. (Which is the same logic Japan uses regarding Senkaku)

Campaigns

Dokdo is occupied by a Korean couple

Public Campaigns

Lessons

• Kenneth Keller: Dokdo – Developing an Information Based Position using Geodata

• Michael Robinson: This is Our Land

• Kate Trindle: Think Tank Activity: The Dilemma of Dokdo

• Kelly Swanson: Dokdo/Takeshima: Who owns it?

• Doug Andersen: Get a Piece of the R.O.K.

Lesson Ideas

• Examine the post-WWII relationship between S. Korea and Japan.

• What is the International Court of Justice?

• Does the nature of the dispute change because a Korean couple inhabit the Liancourt Rocks?

• Apply the situation to the Crimea.