{ "id": "R42761", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "R", "number": "R42761", "active": true, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov, EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "summary": null, "typeId": "R", "sourceLink": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=R42761", "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov", "type": "CRS Report", "retrieved": "2021-04-01T04:03:37.684872", "source_dir": "crsreports.congress.gov", "id": "R42761_22_2021-03-01", "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "url": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R42761/22", "sha1": "97f0d284a1f8b1b03b742794379613156a9cc720", "filename": "files/2021-03-01_R42761_97f0d284a1f8b1b03b742794379613156a9cc720.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/2021-03-01_R42761_97f0d284a1f8b1b03b742794379613156a9cc720.html" } ], "active": true, "title": "The Senkakus (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai) Dispute: U.S. Treaty Obligations", "date": "2021-03-01" }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 587697, "date": "2017-02-21", "retrieved": "2020-01-02T14:48:48.432167", "title": "The Senkakus (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai) Dispute: U.S. Treaty Obligations", "summary": "Since the mid-1990s, and particularly since 2012, tensions have spiked between Japan and China over the disputed Senkaku (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai) islands in the East China Sea. These flare-ups run the risk of involving the United States in an armed conflict in the region. Japan administers the eight small, uninhabited features, the largest of which is roughly 1.5 square miles. Some geologists believe the features sit near significant oil and natural gas deposits. China, as well as Taiwan, contests Japanese claims of sovereignty over the islands, which Japan calls the Senkaku-shoto, China calls the Diaoyu Dao, and Taiwan calls the Diaoyutai Lieyu. Although the disputed territory commonly is referred to as \u201cislands,\u201d it is unclear if any of the features would meet the definition of \u201cisland\u201d under international law. \nU.S. Administrations going back at least to the Nixon Administration have stated that the United States takes no position on the question of who has sovereignty over the Senkakus (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai). It also has been U.S. policy since 1972, however, that the 1960 U.S.-Japan Security Treaty covers the islands. The treaty states that the United States is committed to \u201cmeet the common danger\u201d of an armed attack on \u201cthe territories under the Administration of Japan,\u201d and Japan administers the Senkakus (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai). In return for U.S. security commitments, Japan grants the United States the right to station U.S. troops\u2014which currently number around 50,000\u2014at dozens of bases throughout the Japanese archipelago. Although it is commonly understood that Japan will assume the primary responsibility for the defense of the treaty area, in the event of a significant armed conflict with either China or Taiwan, most Japanese likely would expect that the United States would honor its treaty obligations. \nSince 2012, without challenging the U.S. government\u2019s position of neutrality over who has sovereignty over the islands, Congress nevertheless has expanded rhetorical support for Japan on the dispute. Congress inserted in the FY2013 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4310/P.L. 112-239) a resolution stating, among other items, that \u201cthe unilateral action of a third party will not affect the United States\u2019 acknowledgment of the administration of Japan over the Senkaku Islands.\u201d Following Congress\u2019s statement, Obama Administration officials began using similar language, also without changing U.S. neutrality on the sovereignty question. Most prominently, in April 2014, President Obama reiterated that Article 5 of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty covers the islands and that \u201cwe do not believe that [the Senkakus\u2019 status] ... should be subject to change unilaterally.\u201d This is believed to be the first time a U.S. President publicly stated the U.S. position on the dispute. \nIn February 2017, during his first joint press appearance as President with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, President Donald Trump stated that \u201cwe are committed to the security of Japan and all areas under its administrative control.... \u201d A joint statement issued by the two governments during their summit said that the two leaders \u201caffirmed that Article V of the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security covers the Senkaku Islands. They oppose any unilateral action that seeks to undermine Japan\u2019s administration of these islands.\u201d\nThe expanded U.S. rhetorical support for Japan has been a reaction to China\u2019s increasing patrols around the Senkakus (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai) beginning in the fall of 2012, moves that appear to many to be an attempt to exploit the U.S. distinction between sovereignty and administrative control by demonstrating that Beijing has a degree of administrative control over the islands. In a further effort to deter Chinese actions, the United States has increased its support for Japan\u2019s efforts to boost its maritime and island defenses.\nEach time tensions over the territorial dispute have flared, questions have arisen concerning the U.S. legal relationship to the islands. This report focuses on that issue.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R42761", "sha1": "7046d135945949d911655bccd99de67c19642934", "filename": "files/20170221_R42761_7046d135945949d911655bccd99de67c19642934.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R42761_files&id=/0.png": "files/20170221_R42761_images_90f9a9247b659f2796f98daaf79a4e3b43c403fc.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R42761", "sha1": "2ca255915046151588d267da7f502d03981f3828", "filename": "files/20170221_R42761_2ca255915046151588d267da7f502d03981f3828.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4911, "name": "East Asia & Pacific" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 458817, "date": "2017-02-06", "retrieved": "2017-02-10T18:22:58.079343", "title": "The Senkakus (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai) Dispute: U.S. Treaty Obligations", "summary": "Since the mid-1990s, and particularly since 2012, tensions have spiked between Japan and China over the disputed Senkaku (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai) islands in the East China Sea. These flare-ups run the risk of involving the United States in an armed conflict in the region. Japan administers the eight small, uninhabited features, the largest of which is roughly 1.5 square miles. Some geologists believe the features sit near significant oil and natural gas deposits. China, as well as Taiwan, contests Japanese claims of sovereignty over the islands, which Japan calls the Senkaku-shoto, China calls the Diaoyu Dao, and Taiwan calls the Diaoyutai Lieyu. Although the disputed territory commonly is referred to as \u201cislands,\u201d it is unclear if any of the features would meet the definition of \u201cisland\u201d under international law. \nU.S. Administrations going back at least to the Nixon Administration have stated that the United States takes no position on the question of who has sovereignty over the Senkakus (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai). It also has been U.S. policy since 1972, however, that the 1960 U.S.-Japan Security Treaty covers the islands. The treaty states that the United States is committed to \u201cmeet the common danger\u201d of an armed attack on \u201cthe territories under the Administration of Japan,\u201d and Japan administers the Senkakus (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai). In return for U.S. security commitments, Japan grants the United States the right to station U.S. troops\u2014which currently number around 50,000\u2014at dozens of bases throughout the Japanese archipelago. Although it is commonly understood that Japan will assume the primary responsibility for the defense of the treaty area, in the event of a significant armed conflict with either China or Taiwan, most Japanese likely would expect that the United States would honor its treaty obligations. \nSince 2012, without challenging the U.S. government\u2019s position of neutrality over who has sovereignty over the islands, Congress nevertheless has expanded rhetorical support for Japan on the dispute. In 2012, congressional committees explored the dispute in hearings and inserted in the FY2013 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4310/P.L. 112-239) a resolution stating, among other items, that \u201cthe unilateral action of a third party will not affect the United States\u2019 acknowledgment of the administration of Japan over the Senkaku Islands.\u201d Following Congress\u2019s statement, Obama Administration officials began using similar language, also without changing U.S. neutrality on the sovereignty question. In January 2013, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton stated that \u201cwe oppose any unilateral actions that would seek to undermine Japanese administration\u201d of the islands. Speaking in Tokyo in April 2014, President Obama reiterated that Article 5 of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty covers the islands and that \u201cwe do not believe that [the Senkakus\u2019 status] ... should be subject to change unilaterally.\u201d This is believed to be the first time a U.S. President publicly stated the U.S. position on the dispute.\nDuring his first trip to Japan as Secretary of Defense, Jim Mattis in February 2017 said \u201cthe United States will continue to recognize Japanese administration of the islands, and as such article five of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty applies.\u201d Standing by Secretary Mattis\u2019s side at a joint press conference, Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada said that Mattis had told her that the United States opposes any unilateral action to overturn Japanese administration of the islands. \nThe expanded U.S. rhetorical support for Japan has been a reaction to China\u2019s increasing patrols around the Senkakus (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai) beginning in the fall of 2012, moves that appear to many to be an attempt to exploit the U.S. distinction between sovereignty and administrative control by demonstrating that Beijing has a degree of administrative control over the islands. In a further effort to deter Chinese actions, the United States has increased its support for Japan\u2019s efforts to boost its maritime and island defenses.\nEach time tensions over the territorial dispute have flared, questions have arisen concerning the U.S. legal relationship to the islands. This report focuses on that issue, which has four elements: \nU.S. administration of the islands from 1953 to 1971, when the United States occupied Okinawa; \nthe application to the Senkakus (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai) of the 1971 \u201cTreaty Between Japan and the United States of America Concerning the Ryukyu Islands and the Daito Islands\u201d\u2014commonly known as the Okinawa Reversion Treaty, which was approved by the Senate in 1971 and entered into force the following year (the Daito Islands lie to the east of Okinawa);\nthe U.S. view on the claims of the disputants; and \nthe relationship of the 1960 U.S.-Japan Security Treaty to the islands.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R42761", "sha1": "bf5b98994266f65b84460a0c0c4aaa6c9ed4958c", "filename": "files/20170206_R42761_bf5b98994266f65b84460a0c0c4aaa6c9ed4958c.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R42761", "sha1": "f0c59e28794878991e5c05fe9fa049cc13c7778b", "filename": "files/20170206_R42761_f0c59e28794878991e5c05fe9fa049cc13c7778b.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4911, "name": "East Asia & Pacific" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 456545, "date": "2016-10-14", "retrieved": "2016-10-24T14:51:04.612955", "title": "The Senkakus (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai) Dispute: U.S. Treaty Obligations", "summary": "Since the mid-1990s, and particularly since 2012, tensions have spiked between Japan and China over the disputed Senkaku (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai) islands in the East China Sea. These flare-ups run the risk of involving the United States in an armed conflict in the region. Japan administers the eight small, uninhabited features, the largest of which is roughly 1.5 square miles. Some geologists believe the features sit near significant oil and natural gas deposits. China, as well as Taiwan, contests Japanese claims of sovereignty over the islands, which Japan calls the Senkaku-shoto, China calls the Diaoyu Dao, and Taiwan calls the Diaoyutai Lieyu. Although the disputed territory commonly is referred to as \u201cislands,\u201d it is unclear if any of the features would meet the definition of \u201cisland\u201d under international law. \nU.S. administrations going back at least to the Nixon Administration have stated that the United States takes no position on the question of who has sovereignty over the Senkakus (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai). It also has been U.S. policy since 1972, however, that the 1960 U.S.-Japan Security Treaty covers the islands. The treaty states that the United States is committed to \u201cmeet the common danger\u201d of an armed attack on \u201cthe territories under the Administration of Japan,\u201d and Japan administers the Senkakus (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai). In return for U.S. security commitments, Japan grants the United States the right to station U.S. troops\u2014which currently number around 50,000\u2014at dozens of bases throughout the Japanese archipelago. Although it is commonly understood that Japan will assume the primary responsibility for the defense of the treaty area, in the event of a significant armed conflict with either China or Taiwan, most Japanese likely would expect that the United States would honor its treaty obligations. \nSince 2012, without challenging the U.S. government\u2019s position of neutrality over who has sovereignty over the islands, Congress nevertheless has expanded rhetorical support for Japan on the dispute. In 2012, congressional committees explored the dispute in hearings and inserted in the FY2013 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4310/P.L. 112-239) a resolution stating, among other items, that \u201cthe unilateral action of a third party will not affect the United States\u2019 acknowledgment of the administration of Japan over the Senkaku Islands.\u201d Following Congress\u2019 statement, Obama Administration officials began using similar language, also without changing U.S. neutrality on the sovereignty question. In January 2013, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton stated that \u201cwe oppose any unilateral actions that would seek to undermine Japanese administration\u201d of the islands. Speaking in Tokyo in April 2014, President Obama reiterated that Article 5 of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty covers the islands and that \u201cwe do not believe that [the Senkakus\u2019 status] ... should be subject to change unilaterally.\u201d This is believed to be the first time a U.S. President publicly stated the U.S. position on the dispute.\nThe expanded U.S. rhetorical support for Japan was a reaction to China\u2019s increasing patrols around the Senkakus (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai) beginning in the fall of 2012, moves that appear to many to be an attempt to exploit the U.S. distinction between sovereignty and administrative control by demonstrating that Beijing has a degree of administrative control over the islands. In a further effort to deter Chinese actions, the United States has increased its support for Japan\u2019s efforts to boost its maritime and island defenses.\nEach time tensions over the territorial dispute have flared, questions have arisen concerning the U.S. legal relationship to the islands. This report focuses on that issue, which has four elements: \nU.S. administration of the islands from 1953 to 1971, when the United States occupied Okinawa; \nthe application to the Senkakus (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai) of the 1971 \u201cTreaty Between Japan and the United States of America Concerning the Ryukyu Islands and the Daito Islands\u201d\u2014commonly known as the Okinawa Reversion Treaty, which was approved by the Senate in 1971 and entered into force the following year (the Daito Islands lie to the east of Okinawa);\nthe U.S. view on the claims of the disputants; and \nthe relationship of the 1960 U.S.-Japan Security Treaty to the islands.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R42761", "sha1": "2ece3153e9cec1905cfa92512a200604b9d73030", "filename": "files/20161014_R42761_2ece3153e9cec1905cfa92512a200604b9d73030.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R42761", "sha1": "348003d5b29b07c4d0164d4db1f5c33b079d7d3c", "filename": "files/20161014_R42761_348003d5b29b07c4d0164d4db1f5c33b079d7d3c.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4911, "name": "East Asia & Pacific" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 440299, "date": "2013-01-22", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T21:25:33.934095", "title": "Senkaku (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai) Islands Dispute: U.S. Treaty Obligations", "summary": "Since the mid-1990s, tensions have spiked periodically among Japan, China, and Taiwan over the disputed Senkaku (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai) islets in the East China Sea. These flare-ups run the risk of involving the United States in an armed conflict in the region. Japan administers the eight small, uninhabited islets, which some geologists believe sit near significant oil and natural gas deposits. China and Taiwan both contest Japanese claims of sovereignty over the islets.\nU.S. administrations going back at least to the Nixon Administration have stated that the United States takes no position on the territorial disputes. However, it also has been U.S. policy since 1972 that the 1960 U.S.-Japan Security Treaty covers the islets, because Article 5 of the treaty stipulates that the United States is bound to protect \u201cthe territories under the Administration of Japan\u201d and Japan administers the Senkakus (Diaoyu Islands). Under the treaty, the United States guarantees Japan\u2019s security in return for the right to station U.S. troops\u2014which currently number around 50,000\u2014in dozens of bases throughout the Japanese archipelago. Although it is commonly understood that Japan will assume the primary responsibility for the defense of the treaty area, in the event of a significant armed conflict with either China or Taiwan, most Japanese would likely expect that the United States would honor its treaty obligations. \nEach time tensions over the islets have flared, questions have arisen concerning the U.S. legal relationship to the islets. This report will focus on that issue, which has four elements: \nU.S. administration of the Senkakus (Diaoyu Islands) from 1953 to 1971; \nthe application to the Senkakus (Diaoyu Islands) of the 1971 \u201cTreaty Between Japan and the United States of America Concerning the Ryukyu Islands and the Daito Islands\u201d\u2014commonly known as the Okinawa Reversion Treaty, approved by the Senate in 1971 and entered into force the following year (the Daito Islands lie to the east of Okinawa);\nthe U.S. view on the claims of the disputants; and \nthe relationship of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty to the islets. \nMembers of Congress periodically have been involved or expressed interest in the Senkaku (Diaoyu) dispute over the decades, most prominently when the issue of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty\u2019s application arose during the Senate\u2019s deliberations over the Okinawa Reversion Treaty. In 2012, congressional committees explored the topic in hearings and inserted in the FY2013 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4310/P.L. 112-239) a resolution stating, among other items, that \u201cthe unilateral action of a third party will not affect the United States\u2019 acknowledgment of the administration of Japan over the Senkaku Islands.\u201d Similarly, in January 2013, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton stated that \u201cwe oppose any unilateral actions that would seek to undermine Japanese administration\u201d of the islets. This language was a reaction to China\u2019s increase in patrols around the Senkakus since the fall of 2012, moves that appear to many to be an attempt to exploit the U.S. distinction between sovereignty and administrative control by demonstrating that Beijing has a degree of administrative control over the islets.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R42761", "sha1": "9b8a7e4a140b33627cf529f87c03defaaf9fd28b", "filename": "files/20130122_R42761_9b8a7e4a140b33627cf529f87c03defaaf9fd28b.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R42761", "sha1": "d7ee129b63d2d20f92e9405b8cead72950b951ee", "filename": "files/20130122_R42761_d7ee129b63d2d20f92e9405b8cead72950b951ee.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 278, "name": "China, Taiwan, and Mongolia" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 280, "name": "Korean Peninsula and Japan" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 3407, "name": "Asian Regionalism" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc819616/", "id": "R42761_2012Sep25", "date": "2012-09-25", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Senkaku (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai) Islands Dispute: U.S. Treaty Obligations", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20120925_R42761_6e0b111d623418b6ebc4ace03e112ee59ad5dc18.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20120925_R42761_6e0b111d623418b6ebc4ace03e112ee59ad5dc18.html" } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [ "American Law", "Asian Affairs", "Foreign Affairs", "National Defense" ] }