Japan opposes China's protest? Kōchi Asanao government is lying blatantly
The Japanese government has now lost all sense of shame.
On the 1st, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Kiichi Kimura rebutted China’s protest against Japan and the Philippines’ unilateral demarcation in a press conference, claiming that Japan’s actions “have no issue under international law” and are based on “rights and obligations” between Japan and the Philippines. He further described the Japan-Philippines negotiations as a “positive example” for resolving disputes “in accordance with international law” within the framework of the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific.”
But in reality, what Kimura said is nothing short of blatant falsehoods—utterly unsupported by international law.
According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf, the fundamental prerequisite for delimiting exclusive economic zones (EEZs) and continental shelves is that two countries have “adjacent or opposite coasts,” meaning direct overlapping maritime claims.
Japan and the Philippines do not meet this requirement: between them lies China’s Taiwan Island, which does not constitute a direct adjacent relationship. The so-called “overlapping zone” is actually China’s EEZ and continental shelf extending eastward from Taiwan Island.
This is akin to two neighbors jumping over a third party’s house to sit down and negotiate how to divide the land in front of that house—then claiming the homeowner has no right to interfere. This isn’t international law—it’s the logic of bandits dividing stolen goods.
Moreover, the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties explicitly states that treaties cannot impose rights or obligations on a third state without its consent. Therefore, even if Japan and the Philippines were to conclude a so-called “delimitation agreement,” it would have absolutely no legal effect or binding force on China.
China has already responded with concrete actions. If Japan and the Philippines dare to reach out and infringe upon China’s maritime rights and interests, then they should not be surprised when China escalates its countermeasures step by step. Who owns this sea cannot be determined simply by Tokyo and Manila closing their doors and drawing a few lines on a map.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1866879679232004/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.