RP 2011 01 China Japan Web

DIIS REPORT 2011:01

DIIS REPORT

DIIS REPORT

POPULAR NATIONALISM IN
CHINA AND THE SINO-JAPANESE
RELATIONSHIP
THE CONFLICT IN THE EAST CHINA SEA
AN INTRODUCTORY STUDY
Erik Beukel
DIIS REPORT 2011:01

DIIS . DANISH INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
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DIIS REPORT 2011:01
© Copenhagen 2011, Erik Beukel and DIIS
Danish Institute for International Studies, DIIS
Strandgade 56, DK-1401 Copenhagen, Denmark
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This publication is part of DIIS’s Defence and
Security Studies project which is funded by a grant from the Danish Ministry of Defence.

Erik Beukel, Dr.Scient.Pol., Senior Researcher, DIIS www.diis.dk/eke 2

DIIS REPORT 2011:01

Table of Contents

Abstract

4

1. Introduction

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2. The East China Sea: competing claims

7

3. The rise of anti-Japanese nationalism

10

4. Four dispute crises

12

The 1990 crisis
The 1996 crisis
The 2004–5 crisis
The 2010 crisis

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12
14
16

5. New initiatives in the ‘00s
‘New thinking’ and a rare public debate
Ups and downs of new agreements

18
18
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6. Conclusions: the tensions of adopting Janus-like positions

22

Bibliography

25

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DIIS REPORT 2011:01

Abstract

The Sino-Japanese relationship is a highly complex one, marked both by Japan’s aggressive wars from the 1930s on and the present economic interdependence between the two countries. Focusing on the role of the territorial conflict in the East China
Sea, this DIIS Report considers how China’s leaders handle anti-Japanese nationalism by adopting a Janusian stance and pursuing both China’s basic interest in close economic relations with Japan and also domestic stability. After a review of Chinese and Japanese sovereignty claims in the area

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