中国海洋強国化 地域の緊張どこまで高めるか

The Yomiuri Shimbun June 24, 2013
How far is China going to heighten tensions in the region?
中国海洋強国化　地域の緊張どこまで高めるか（6月23日付・読売社説）

As long as China has committed itself to taking a path of “peaceful development,” it must take the initiative and relax tensions in its international relations.
　「平和発展」を標榜(ひょうぼう)するなら、中国は率先して緊張緩和をすべきだ。

The administration of President Xi Jinping, which has declared this year the “first year for making China a maritime power,” has been accelerating moves aimed at forcibly enclosing the East China Sea and South China Sea.
　今年を「海洋強国化」の元年と位置づけた習近平政権が、東シナ海と南シナ海を力で囲い込む動きを着実に加速させている。

In late April, Beijing started cruise tours to the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, triggering a fierce reaction from Vietnam, which has been locked in a territorial dispute with China over the islets.
　ベトナムと領有権を争う南シナ海の西沙諸島では、４月末にクルーズ船ツアーを開始し、ベトナムの強い反発を招いた。

Each cruise tour comprises about 200 passengers who can swim and go sightseeing on the islets, in what appears to be an attempt to make the visitors tangibly feel that China wields effective control over the chain. The scale of the tours is likely to be expanded.
　ツアーは２００人規模で、観光や海水浴を通じて乗客に実効支配を体感させる内容だ。今後、規模を拡大するとみられる。

‘Patriotic education’

Beijing launched the cruise tour program after the city of Sansha was placed in charge of administering three island groups--the Paracel Islands, the Spratly Islands and the Macclesfield Bank--in June last year.
　昨年６月に、西沙、南沙、中沙の３諸島を管轄する「三沙市」を設置したのに続く措置だ。

The cruise tours of the Paracels are considered part of China’s “maritime version of the patriotic education program,” along with the planned construction of a national maritime museum in the suburbs of Tianjin, northern China, with a view to broadening public support for Beijing’s bid to secure its maritime interests.
　海洋博物館建設と並ぶ、海洋権益確保への支持を広げる「海洋版・愛国教育」の一環である。

On Wednesday, Xi met with his Vietnamese counterpart on his trip to China. A joint statement released after their talks stated the two countries will “remain calm and avoid action that could complicate or escalate a dispute.”
　習国家主席は１９日、訪中したベトナム国家主席と会談した。その後の共同声明では、「争いを複雑化、拡大させる行動はとらない」としている。

That these two countries at loggerheads have agreed to prevent any further deterioration of ties over the dispute should be welcomed. It is crucial, however, that China and Vietnam abide by the accord, rather than just letting it end up as words on paper.
　対立する両国が紛争悪化に歯止めをかける点で一致したことは歓迎できる。言葉だけに終わらせず、順守することが肝要だ。

In May, Chinese surveillance ships started patrols in waters surrounding the Spratly Islands that have been under the effective control of the Philippines. This is similar to China’s regular patrols by surveillance vessels since last year in waters around the Scarborough Shoal near the Macclesfield Bank.
　中国はフィリピンが実効支配している南沙の一部海域で、５月に監視船の巡回を実施した。昨年来、中沙のスカボロー礁で監視船の巡回を常態化させている措置を想起させる動きである。

In February, Beijing’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, docked for the first time at its homeport in Qingdao, Shangdong Provice. China is believed poised to have the Liaoning set out for a long-distance voyage before the end of the year. Flaunting its bolstered naval capabilities may be designed to put pressure on Japan, the United States and other countries.
　２月には、山東省青島を中国初の空母「遼寧」の母港とした。年内にも遠洋航海させる構えだ。海軍力増強の誇示は、日本や米国に圧力をかける狙いがあろう。

Chinese surveillance ships have continued to make regular intrusions in waters near the Senkaku Islands, Okinawa Prefecture.
　沖縄県・尖閣諸島周辺では、監視船の領海侵入が続いている。

In the latest U.S.-China summit meeting, President Barack Obama was quoted as telling Xi that the U.S. government would not accept China intimidating Japan, a U.S. ally. This remark can be interpreted as a warning to China over repeated provocations by its ships in the waters. Obama’s remark is important in that it will solidify the Japan-U.S. alliance.
　オバマ米大統領は先の米中首脳会談で、「同盟国である日本が中国に脅迫されるのを見過ごすことはできない」と述べたという。監視船による挑発を念頭に中国を牽制(けんせい)したものだろう。日米同盟強化につながる重要な発言である。

‘Shelving’ logic irrational

We cannot overlook the fact that high-ranking officials of the Xi administration are trying to change the status quo over the Senkakus by reiterating that the issue “must be shelved.”
　看過できないのは、尖閣について、習政権の要人が度々「棚上げ」論を持ち出し、現状変更を図ろうとしていることだ。

Fundamentally, no territorial problem between Japan and China exists, so there is nothing to be shelved.
　そもそも「棚上げ」すべき領土問題は存在しない。

Back in 1992, China itself did away with the logic of “shelving” the dispute by stipulating explicitly for the first time what it claims to be China’s “sovereignty” over the Senkaku Islands in its Territorial Waters Law.
１９９２年に初めて領海法で尖閣の「領有」を明記し、「棚上げ」を破棄したのは他ならぬ中国ではないか。

In a series of meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to be held from late this month to early July, discussions will be made on various issues, including the principle of the “rule of law” in the South China Sea.
　今月末から来月初めにかけて開かれる東南アジア諸国連合（ＡＳＥＡＮ）の一連の会議では、南シナ海での「法の支配」などを巡る議論が行われる。

At these meetings, the Japanese government must actively explain the historial facts involving the Senkakus and the urgent need to strictly abide by internationally acceptable rules so as to persuasively convey Japan’s position.
　政府は歴史的経緯とルール厳守の緊要性を積極発信し、日本の立場を訴えていかねばならない。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 23, 2013)
（2013年6月23日01時32分  読売新聞）