'Diaoyu Islands: The Truth' Urges America and Japan To Change Their Attitudes and Actions

“Diaoyu Islands: The Truth,” a documentary directed and funded by German-American director Chris D. Nebe and produced by the Monarex Hollywood Corporation, was made in one year and had its world premiere in Beverly Hills in the U.S. on March 11, 2014. This documentary proves the undisputed fact that the Diaoyu Islands and its affiliated islands were part of Chinese territory from ancient times, is backed by vast historical facts and examples, and restores the truth about the “Diaoyu Islands issue.”

China is always in pursuit of the notion and route of peaceful development. However, a lot of Western media still hold prejudice against China, or even favor Japan, on the Diaoyu Islands by producing distorted and biased reports. Nevertheless, the international community and the wider public need to know the truth that was not previously known, as historical truth cannot be covered up indefinitely. Director Chris D. Nebe, with a rigorous and persistent attitude, spent eight months visiting and interviewing, and collected a large amount of data. From a perspective of a third person, this approximately 40 minute long documentary reviews each Japanese invasion of China since modern times, tells us the truth of how Japan stole the Diaoyu Islands during the Jia Wu (Sino-Japanese war) and clearly introduces the causes of the Diaoyu Islands dispute between China and Japan.

After World War II, based on international law and documents such as the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Declaration, the Diaoyu Islands should have been returned to China. However, some changes took place due to the establishment of the U.S.-Japan alliance, which were mentioned in the narrative of the documentary: “After World War II, America did not return the islands to China but advocated ‘executive right.’ In 1971, despite China’s declaration, America ‘returned’ the island to Japan.”* This is to say that America struck a private deal and gave the “executive right” over the Diaoyu Islands and its affiliated islands, along with the Ryukyu Islands, to Japan. From here, this foreshadows the dispute between China and Japan.

For a long time, America has claimed that it will not clarify its stand on this issue. However, it keeps publicly stressing the fact that the Diaoyu Islands are subject to the “Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan.” The former Bush administration indicated that the Diaoyu Islands are under Japan’s jurisdiction. Since the treaty applies to the area under Japan’s jurisdiction, it should also apply to the Diaoyu Islands. This way, America clearly shows that the Diaoyu Islands fall under its defense obligation toward Japan. This severely damages China’s right to territorial sovereignty and national interest.

Although the Obama administration moderately adjusted the Bush administration’s China policy, it shows an extension of toughness of the treaty that applies to the Diaoyu Islands. Former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton told the press that the Diaoyu Islands are within the scope of article number 5 of the Treaty on Oct. 27, 2010, after talking with former Japanese Foreign Minister Maehara in Hawaii. This was the first time that the Obama administration made such a statement in public. This indicates that if something happens to the Diaoyu Islands, both Japan and America will jointly deal with it. In particular, the Senate decided to introduce additional terms to the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2013, clearly declaring that the Diaoyu Islands are within the scope of article number 5 of the treaty in the plenary meeting on Nov. 29, 2012. This act was intended to keep a consistent stance with the Obama administration in order to restrain China, who claims the sovereign right over the “Senkaku Islands.” After that, both the Senate and House Committees on Armed Services agreed to confirm in the National Defense Authorization Act that that the Diaoyu Islands would be within the scope of article number 5 of the treaty in fiscal year 2013. This act was passed by both the House and the Senate, and is to become a law once Obama signs it. In order to better react to China’s response to issues such as the Diaoyu Islands, Japan and America have engaged in revising the “Japan-U.S. Defense Guidelines.” Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has given instructions to Defense Minister Itsunori Onedera on making the new guidelines in 2014.

Strategically speaking, the Diaoyu Islands issue is a very important factor in casting a bone between China and America and in hindering the process of regional integration in Northeast Asia, and a key strategic pivot point in safeguarding its strategic interests in the Asia Pacific region, solidifying the U.S.-Japanese alliance, and containing China. In recent years, Japan and America have made announcements confirming that the Diaoyu Islands belong to the scope of Japanese and American security several times. This shows that Japan and America’s speculation on the issue of the Diaoyu Islands has severely undermined the healthy development of relationships between China and America and between China and Japan, which leads to a further complication in the security situation in East Asia and makes solving problems pertaining to marine rights and territorial sovereignty harder among countries in East Asia. As to the retrograde measures taken by the U.S.-Japan alliance on the Diaoyu Islands, the film “Diaoyu Islands: The Truth” urges both the Japanese and U.S. governments to change their attitudes and actions, restore the historical truth of this issue, and inform the world of it. Just as Chris D. Nebe, the director of “Diaoyu Islands: The Truth,” said, The Diaoyu Islands belong to China. They did a few centuries ago. He hopes to convey to America that the U.S. government should encourage its ally Japan to return the islands to China immediately and apologize to China for its war crimes.

*Editor’s Note: This quotation, accurately translated, could not be verified.