I have been paying a bit of attention to the dispute about the Senkaku Islands lately. I recall having proposed an easy way to solve the issue over negotiating a treaty yesterday.
However, having just read this article by Frank Ching in the Japan Times on the issue, I hope that no one reads my proposal and it doesn’t get adopted any time soon.
That’s because under the status quo, Japan administrates these islands, and the United States guarantee them against any military intervention the Chinese might come up with.
But Japan doesn’t dare to develop any of the oil and natural gas resources in the area, because that would be a provocation against the Chinese, explains Ching.
If so, resolving this dispute would lead to drilling in the East China Sea, where 10 percent of the planet’s oil resources are estimated to be found. In contrast, having the status quo continue means those oil and gas resources stay right where they are and where they need to stay for climate protection.
Therefore, as far as I am concerned, there is no need to resolve this issue any time in the next couple of decades. Let one of the next generations deal with it.
