Vol.1, June 30, 2024

What is happening in East Asian Maritime Security? The Research Institute for Peace and Security (RIPS) publishes the biweekly newsletter, “East Asian Maritime Security (EAMS)” and updates the information on maritime security in the East Asia and Japan's territory.

Foreword

by

Go ITO

Professor, Meiji University

Japan is a maritime nation. Surrounded by the sea, Japanese history cannot be separated from the existence of the sea. The sea has been the most significant and indispensable route for our food, trade, communication, security, and so forth. Thus, Japan has emphasized the stability of the maritime space.

This stability is not only for Japan. All countries using the sea should have the same entitlements. The 1982 UNCLOS seeks to “contribute to the strengthening of peace, security, cooperation and friendly relations among all nations in conformity with the principles of justice and equal rights.” This equality, however, is difficult to be maintained, depending on the power balance of the countries pertaining to the sea.

In this context, the Research Institute for Peace and Security has decided to issue this bi-weekly newsletter on Japan’s territorial sovereignty and the stability of maritime order. The Japanese government has upheld the rule-based international order built upon the principle of “the rule of law.” Within this framework, it has claimed the legal justice of sovereignty over the Northern Territories and Takeshima which have illegally been occupied by Russia (the Soviet Union) and South Korea respectively. Also, it has legally maintained its effective control over the Senkaku Islands although Japan’s claim for the territorial integrity has recently been jeopardized by China’s behaviors seeking to alter the status quo by force and coercion.

This newsletter has two purposes. One is to promote the international public understanding on Japana’s legal justice of claiming the territorial integrity of the three islands, and how the territorial integrity, particularly relating to the Senkaku Islands, has been jeopardized. The other is to help international experts discuss the should-be maritime order by providing useful data and information. The stable maritime order can be maintained by complying with the international legal frameworks which are established on accumulated customs and wisdom of mankind and must be followed in good faith by all countries.

Different from land where the ownership of a territory cannot legally be trespassed by other countries, there is a part of maritime areas existing for a common use of all countries. Even within territorial waters, innocent passages are allowed. Thus, the sea has wider areas to be used for transportation. This blurred line between ownership and usage of maritime areas has caused various problems. First, the concept of ownership can be seen as an extension of land. Territorial waters as well as exclusive economic zones (EEZs) are in this category. The broader areas a country controls, the more benefits it gains. The reason why island territories become disputes of nations is that the breadth of the territories directly affects the that of the ocean. Coastal countries tend to emphasize this concept of ownership, which naturally has a characteristic of the “zero-sum game.”

By contrast, during the negotiations process in preparing the UNCLOS, inland countries emphasized the public nature of the maritime space, which resulted in the making of a concept called the “high sea” for the use of all countries. However, for the stability of the maritime space, this “usage” concept should be delicately addressed. For instance, although Japan does not have any claim on the ownership of islands in the South China Sea, the area has been an indispensable sea lane for its maritime trade and transportation of important goods, including energy. The safe passage of vessels within the area is in the interest not only of Japan but also of all countries, and in fact a rising number of ships are currently passing through the South China Sea, and issues related to the security and safety of vessels there have recently attracted a wide attention.

The above two concepts are inseparable, and the established maritime order cannot be altered by force or coercion. Following the spirit of cooperation enshrined in the UNCLOS, this newsletter will provide readers with useful information regarding the status quo of Japan’s territorial integrity and the maritime security and stability around Japan.

Statistical Data and Analysis (as of June 28)

Is China starting another "slice"?

This June could be remembered in the near future as a turning point when China intensified its unilateral attempt to challenge the status quo by using force and coercion in the East China Sea. Compared with China’s “usual” practice of navigating in the contiguous zone and intruding into Japanese territorial waters, there were two significant changes in both quantity and quality: the frequency of the intrusion and the apparent arms of ships.

Since June 20, China Coast Guard vessels have intruded into Japanese territorial waters 5 days in a row despite the warnings from the Japanese Coast Guard (JCG). This is an unprecedented pace; previously, China Coast Guard vessels had entered the Japanese territorial waters at most twice a month, and the intrusion had not lasted for longer than 3 days.

Moreover, these vessels were not “usual”. Since December 22 last year, the China Coast Guard has sent ships into the contiguous zone almost every day for more than 188 consecutive days. This is the longest such period since 2012, when the Japanese government acquired ownership of some of the Senkaku Islands from a Japanese owner. This “usual” entry had been carried out by three to four ships, of which at most one ship had equipped with a cannon. However, on June 7, the JCG headquarters said that each ship looked like it had a cannon. Since then, the number of armed ships has increased to more than two, at most all four of them. The armament continues when they intrude into the Japanese territorial waters. The attempts of China Coast Guard seem to be getting aggressive.

While the intent of having such apparent arms needs to be carefully assessed, it could be clearer in light of the recent trend of the China Coast Guard activating the Automatic Identification System (AIS). Normally, Japan Coast Guard vessels turn off the AIS to keep their capabilities and operations secret, and so did the China Coast Guard before. However, since 2023, China Coast Guard vessels have frequently begun to turn on AIS when approaching the contiguous zone and intruding into the Japanese territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands. This is similar to the situation in the South China Sea, where China is attempting to strengthen its “effective control”. Several experts point out that China is using AIS to demonstrate its presence both domestically and internationally. According to Dr. Mouri, "(L)ooking at the AIS information alone, the situation seems to be that there are only Chinese ships in the area. It gives the impression that China is gaining control of these waters. I think China hopes that this will have the effect of actively promoting its presence to the international community,"[1] she noted. The East China Sea in June was no exception. Records show that the AIS of China Coast guard vessels started to be activated around the Senkaku Islands.

In that South China Sea, China has claimed the territorial rights to islands and undersea resources by surrounding the almost the entire area with the so-called "nine-dash line" and has attempted to strengthen its effective control over the disputed maritime waters and reefs by building structures or by reclaiming and establishing bases. These unilateral claims have overlapped and therefore conflicted with coastal countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines. Especially from 2023, the tension between China and the Philippines have frequently turned into physical collision over the Second Thomas Reef. It was reported that on June 17, a Philippine military supply ship collided with a China Coast Guard ships in the waters of the Second Thomas Reef. The Philippines and China are accusing each other of having clashed. In response to the collision, the Japanese government expressed serious concern over "repeated actions which obstruct freedom of navigation and increase regional tensions including recent dangerous actions that resulted in damage to the Filipino vessel and injuries to Filipinos onboard", and stated that it "opposes any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force as well as any actions that increase tensions in the South China Sea" by reiterating the Joint Vision Statement issued at the Japan-US-Philippines Summit in April.

In June, there were China Coast Guard vessels entering the contiguous zone and intruding into Japanese territory at a significant rate, more equipped with a cannon. Given China’s attempts combine “effective control” with force and coercion in the South China Sea, these changes in the East China Sea should be seen in a broader context with the activation of AIS and other legal changes as well. Indeed, on June 15, a new China Coast Guard regulation went into effect that allows it to detain foreigners suspected of trespassing in China's claimed territorial waters for up to 60 days. This could lead to arbitrary detentions in “territories” claimed by China. This series of developments, in combination with public, legal, and coercive measures, indicates that China is intensifying its unilateral changes to the status quo. It is necessary to be cautious about whether China might start the “next slice” of salami also in the East China Sea.

¹ NHK (2023), “Why Did China Coast Guard Vessels Change Intrusion into Territorial Waters Around Senkaku Islands in Okinawa?”, Available at https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/ special/international_news_ navi/articles/feature/2023/06/ 02/32061.html (Accessed June 28, 2024). Translated by author.

[Statistical Data as of June 28]

Japan Coast Guard (JCG) daily updates the statistical data on the number of China Coast Guard vessels entering in the contiguous zone around the Senkaku Islands and intruding into Japanese territorial waters. The below is from the website of JCG.

(https://www.kaiho.mlit.go.jp/ mission/senkaku/senkaku.html)

by Yu AKIMOTO
Researcher, Research Institute for Peace and Security

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