李克強首相発言 歴史を無視した言いがかりだ

The Yomiuri Shimbun June 2, 2013
Chinese premier's outrageous claim to Senkakus has no historical grounds
李克強首相発言　歴史を無視した言いがかりだ（6月1日付・読売社説）

Japan needs to strengthen its guard against China’s propaganda, especially in light of that country’s selfish claim of sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture.
　日本は、沖縄県・尖閣諸島を巡って身勝手な主張を展開する中国の宣伝戦に対する警戒を一段と強める必要がある。

In a speech in the German city of Potsdam on May 26, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, the No. 2 figure under the government of President Xi Jinping, made an apparent reference to the islands, saying, “Territories Japan stole from China must be returned.”
　習近平政権ナンバー２の李克強首相が５月２６日、ドイツのポツダムで演説し、尖閣諸島を念頭に、「日本が盗み取った中国の領土は返還されねばならない」との見解を示した。

Japan absolutely cannot accept the claim that the Senkaku Islands are part of China’s territory. It stands to reason that Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga rebutted Li’s remarks, saying, “They were comments that completely ignored history.”
　尖閣が中国の領土だとする主張は日本として到底受け入れられない。菅官房長官が「あまりにも歴史を無視した発言」と中国を非難したのは当然である。

Referring to the Potsdam Declaration that Japan accepted at the end of World War II, Li said the declaration called on Japan to abide by the Cairo Declaration, which stipulated that Chinese territories “stolen” by Japan--such as the northeastern region, Taiwan and other islands--must be restored to China.
　李首相は、第２次大戦終結時に日本が受諾したポツダム宣言について、「日本が盗み取った中国東北地方や台湾などの島嶼(とうしょ)を中国に返還すると規定したカイロ宣言の条項を必ず履行すると指摘している」と語った。

China’s reasoning is that the Senkakus were taken over by Japan during the Sino-Japanese War, and that as long as Japan accepted the Potsdam Declaration, the islands should be returned to China along with Taiwan. Beijing claims the Senkakus belong to Taiwan.
　尖閣は日清戦争中に日本に奪われたもので、日本がポツダム宣言を受諾した以上、尖閣も台湾の付属島嶼として返還されるべきだというのが中国の論法だ。

Beijing’s intention

While there is nothing new in Li’s remarks, why did he make them at the location where the Potsdam Declaration was issued?
　李首相の発言に目新しさはないが、なぜポツダム宣言の地で語ったのか。

By asserting that the defeated country Japan has been disrupting the international order since World War II, the Xi administration is apparently trying to convince Europe that there is a territorial dispute to be resolved between Japan and China over the Senkaku Islands.
習政権には、敗戦国の日本が第２次大戦後の国際秩序を乱していると主張することで、尖閣を巡って領有権問題があることを欧州にも訴える狙いがあろう。

After confirming that there is no evidence that the Senkakus were under the control of the Qing Dynasty of China, Japan formally incorporated the islands into Okinawa Prefecture after Cabinet approval. This action was taken before Taiwan was ceded to Japan after the Sino-Japanese War.
　尖閣諸島は、清国に帰属する根拠がないことを踏まえ、日清戦争後の台湾割譲以前に日本が閣議決定で沖縄県に編入した。台湾に付属する島嶼とする中国側の主張には、歴史的な根拠がない。

China’s claim that the Senkakus are part of Taiwan thus has no historical grounds.

Furthermore, the San Francisco Peace Treaty, which legally demarcated Japan’s territory after World War II, does not include the Senkakus in a list of territories Japan should renounce.
　第２次大戦後の日本の領土を法的に確定したサンフランシスコ講和条約に尖閣への言及はない。

Furthermore, the Republic of China (Taiwan), which was recognized as a country by Japan at that time, did not raise the issue of the Senkakus during negotiations that resulted in their peace treaty.
日本が当時承認していた「中華民国」（台湾）は日華平和条約の交渉過程で尖閣を持ち出さなかった。

On top of that, neither the Cairo nor Potsdam declarations mention the Senkaku Islands. These declarations also bear no legally binding power in defining Japan’s postwar territory.
　そもそもカイロ、ポツダム両宣言は、尖閣に言及していない。戦後の領土確定に最終的な法的効果があるわけでもない。

For about 75 years since Japan incorporated the Senkakus into its territory, Taiwan and China had never objected to Japan’s control of the islands. This fact also points to a clear contradiction in Li’s reasoning for China’s sovereignty of the islands.
　日本が編入してから約７５年間、台湾も中国も日本の領有に異議を唱えなかった。このことからも李首相の論理矛盾は明白である。

Japan needs own appeal

Remarks by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi are also problematic. Wang rebuffed Suga’s criticism of Beijing’s claim, saying the top Japanese government spokesman should not make comments that betray common sense. We strongly believe it is China that has behaved deviantly.
　中国の王毅外相が「常識外れの話をしてはならない」と菅長官に反撃したのも問題だ。常軌を逸しているのは中国の方である。

Li’s remarks in Potsdam came after the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of China, published an article suggesting the country has sovereignty even over Okinawa Prefecture. These moves are apparently intended to place added pressure on the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
　李首相の発言は、共産党機関紙「人民日報」が中国には沖縄県の領有権すらあると示唆する論文を掲載したのに続く安倍政権への新たな揺さぶりといえよう。

The Japanese government should not only call for efforts by all of its diplomatic missions abroad but also use every possible opportunity, such as international conferences, to make Japan’s stance on the islands better known to the world.
　日本政府は在外公館を総動員するのは無論、国際会議などあらゆる機会を利用して、日本の立場を積極的に発信すべきである。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 1, 2013)
（2013年6月1日01時19分  読売新聞）