１３参院選 対中国外交 歴史的事実を浸透させたい

The Yomiuri Shimbun July 20, 2013
Let facts tell more in diplomacy toward China
１３参院選　対中国外交　歴史的事実を浸透させたい（7月19日付・読売社説）

How to face up to our neighbor China, which persists with its aggressive behavior over the Senkaku Islands, is the biggest diplomatic challenge facing Japan.
　尖閣諸島を巡って威圧的行動を繰り返す隣国・中国に、どう向き合うかは、日本外交が直面する最大の難題だ。

In their pledges for the House of Councillors election, most major parties, bearing the Senkakus issue in mind, have made commitments to “act in defense of the nation’s territory.” All of them, however, have fallen short of providing specific steps that should be taken--and how--to ensure the nation’s territorial sovereignty.
　ほとんどの主要政党が参院選公約で、尖閣諸島を念頭に「領土主権を守る」と掲げた。ただ、各党とも、主権をどう守るか、という具体策には乏しい。

The Chinese government has been lashing out at Japan, asserting that the latter’s decision in September to place the Senkakus under state ownership altered the status quo of the Senkaku situation, which Beijing argues had been “shelved” for many years.
　中国政府は、日本が昨年９月に尖閣諸島を国有化したことが、長年「棚上げ」してきた問題の現状を変更したと非難している。

China’s claim contradictory

There can be no room, however, to doubt that the Senkaku Islands are part of Japan’s intrinsic territory, both historically and in the eyes of international law. It is never a territorial problem to be “shelved.”
　だが、尖閣諸島は歴史的にも国際法上も日本固有の領土だ。「棚上げ」すべき領土問題ではない。

In fact, while arguing for “shelving” the issue, it is China that attempted to change the status quo, by enacting the Law on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone of the Republic of China in 1992, which explicitly stipulates China’s sovereignty over the islands.
そもそも、「棚上げ」と言いながら現状変更を図ったのは、１９９２年制定の領海法に尖閣諸島の領有を明記した中国の方だ。

In addition, it was recently brought to light that China has plans to develop many new gas fields in waters in the vicinity of the Japan-China median line in the East China Sea. These moves are in blatant violation of the Japan-China agreement in 2008 that the two countries will refrain from unilaterally engaging in any developmental projects in the East China Sea.
　最近も、中国が東シナ海の日中中間線付近で、新たなガス田開発を多数進めようとしていることが判明した。東シナ海での一方的な独自開発を見合わせる、とした２００８年の日中合意に明らかに反する動きである。

It is only natural that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has criticized China for continuing to act with only itself in mind.
　安倍首相が身勝手な行為を続ける中国を批判するのは当然だ。

That said, if the current state of relations between Japan and China goes unchanged, it would certainly be detrimental to both countries. Strenuous diplomatic efforts aimed at improving bilateral relations must be made.
　とは言え、日中関係がこのままでは、双方にとってマイナスが大きい。関係改善へ向けた粘り強い外交努力も欠かせない。

The Democratic Party of Japan, which nationalized the Senkaku Islands in its then capacity as the ruling party, has said little in its election platform on the issue except to call for “making the East China Sea an area of peace, friendship and cooperation,” a reference that makes the Senkakus issue sound like someone else’s problem.
　政権党として尖閣諸島を国有化した民主党は公約で「東シナ海を平和、友好、協力の海に」とひとごとのようにうたうだけだ。

New Komeito and Your Party, in connection with the Senkaku row, have called for the creation of a Japan-China “maritime liaison mechanism” for emergencies that would comprise working-level officials from the two countries. This idea should be realized swiftly to prevent an accidental clash that could lead to a conflict.
　公明党やみんなの党は、実務者による緊急時の「海上連絡メカニズム」の創設を唱えている。偶発的な衝突事故や紛争を回避するため、実現を急がねばならない。

The Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party, meanwhile, have been insisting that the Senkakus should be dealt with as a territorial problem for both Japan and China. Does their insistence not run contrary to this country’s national interest? If Japan were to acknowledge the existence of a territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands, China would certainly ratchet up its demands, such as pushing for a scheme for placing the islets under joint management by the two countries.
　共産党や社民党は、尖閣諸島を日中双方の領土問題として扱うよう主張している。国益に反するのではないか。仮に日本が認めれば、中国は日中共同管理など、要求を一層強めてくるに違いない。

Intertwining histories

We should never ignore the fact that China has mixed the Senkakus problem up with differing perceptions of history and the countries’ wartime past.
　尖閣諸島の問題で見過ごせないのは、中国が歴史認識を絡めてきていることだ。

The Chinese administration of President Xi Jinping has criticized Japan for “posing a grave challenge to the international order after World War II.”
習近平政権は「戦後秩序に対する重大な挑戦だ」などと日本を批判している。

Which one of the two countries should be blamed for trying to disrupt the international order? Japan must deal with this matter on the basis of international law.
　秩序を乱すのはどちらか。国際法に基づく対処が必要だ。

The Liberal Democratic Party has been stressing the need to establish a new study institute regarding territory and problems of perceptions of history to compile an effective rebuttal and disproof against unsound arguments regarding historical facts. Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) also advocates the nation’s dignity must be secured through such a method.
　自民党は、領土や歴史問題に関する研究機関を新設し、歴史的事実に反する不当な主張に反論、反証すると強調している。日本維新の会も、こうした方法で日本の尊厳を守るべきだと訴えている。

What approach should be considered the best for conveying historical facts throughout the international community in an appropriate manner?
　歴史的事実を国際社会に正しく浸透させるには、どんな方法が効果的なのか。

The ruling and opposition parties must cooperate, using their combined ingenuity, to resolve the problem.
与野党は知恵を出し合うべきである。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 19, 2013)
（2013年7月19日01時49分 読売新聞）