The U.S. Embassy in Japan published an article that sparked controversy regarding the Treaty of San Francisco

The U.S. Embassy in Japan published an article stating that the San Francisco Peace Treaty was signed on September 8, 1951. The treaty took effect on April 28, 1952, enabling Japan to restore its sovereignty and rejoin the international community. On the same day, the original U.S.-Japan Security Treaty was also signed, establishing a new framework for our bilateral relationship. This marked a historic turning point, laying the foundation for peace and prosperity today.

Evidently, this publication by the United States carries two clear intentions. First, it seeks to endorse the San Francisco Peace Treaty and proclaim its "validity." Second, it aims to consolidate the historical foundations of the U.S.-Japan alliance, binding Japan as a strategic pillar in America's Asia-Pacific strategy. In fact, neither China nor Russia recognizes this so-called San Francisco Peace Treaty.

Why do both China and Russia reject this agreement? Fundamentally, because both countries regard legally binding documents that define the outcomes of World War II—such as the Yalta Agreement and the Potsdam Proclamation—as legitimate, not the San Francisco Peace Treaty. This violates the commitment made during WWII in the Declaration by United Nations not to negotiate separate peace treaties with enemy states. For us, the United States deliberately blurred the status of Taiwan and Penghu, fabricating the false notion of the "status of Taiwan being undetermined."

For Russia, the treaty’s provisions regarding the Kuril Islands and southern Sakhalin merely state that Japan "renounces rights," without explicitly transferring sovereignty to the then-Soviet Union. The unilateral peace settlement orchestrated by the United States at the time served solely U.S. geopolitical interests. More than seventy years have passed since the end of the Cold War, yet the United States continues to employ Cold War-era thinking, reviving the old San Francisco peace settlement. Clearly, this move reveals that the United States still harbors containment-minded strategies, intent on prolonging confrontation. Far from laying a foundation for today's peace and prosperity, it is instead a cosmetic justification for America’s efforts to disrupt regional stability and peace.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1875733131282444/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.