‘Japan’s claim to Dokdo illegitimate’

Valeriy V. Glushkov

This is the third in a series of contributing articles by international and Korean experts shedding light on Japan’s claim on Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo and other affairs that prove Japan’s lack of remorse about historic misdeeds it has committed. ― E.D.

As neighboring countries, Russia, China, Korea and Japan have coexisted since earliest times, with strong trade, scientific and cultural relations.

Unfortunately, the history of mutual relations between some of them was not always peaceful and was darkened quite often with bloody wars, armed clashes, territorial occupations and losses, mutual offences and claims.

However, the most ambitious and disturbing neighboring country at all times was, and is, Japan.

In 1874, this country undertook a military expedition to the Chinese island Formosa; in 1875-1876, a similar expedition to Korea resulted in an agreement about opening several seaports for the Japanese being signed; in 1879, annexation of the Ryukyu Islands was carried out despite China’s protests; and in 1882-1885, the Japanese participated in intervention in Korea.

In 1894, Japan acted as an aggressor, attacked, in peacetime, Chinese ships in Asan Bay in the Yellow Sea, crushed small land forces and unleashed the Sino-Japanese War, during which the realization of the Korea occupation was started.

In 1904, Japan acted under the same scenario, suddenly torpedoed ships of the Russian fleet in Port Arthur before official beginning the Russo-Japanese War.

On Jan. 28, 1905, when Korea’s territory was already occupied completely by the Japanese forces and on wide spaces of Manchuria where there were battles of the Russo-Japanese War, Cabinet ministers of the Japanese government made a unilateral decision to annex “the uninhabited islands, which are located at 37°09′30′′N, 131°55′E and have no signs of belonging to another country…, to Shimane Prefecture, named Takeshima…”

The decision was made on the grounds of the written request about the expediency of annexation of Korea’s Dokdo Islands to Japan’s territory, made by an entrepreneur Nakai Yosaburo ― a fisherman and sea lion hunter, who constructed a hut on the islands ― to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

In autumn of 1904, he wrote in his request: “Dokdo Islands are satellites of Ulleung Island, which is a part of Korean territory… But now it is necessary to annex Dokdo Islands to Japan’s territory. Will not it be expedient to mount watch towers on them… to watch the movement of the enemy’s warships?”

On July 25, 1905, on Dokdo, construction of a watchtower intended for watching the movement of warships was started. On Aug. 19, four days before the war ended, it became operational.

On Oct. 8 (between Dokdo and Ulleung Island) and on Nov. 9 (between Dokdo and Matsuja Island), underwater cables, by means of which telegraphic communication was established, were laid. The tower functioned till Oct. 24, when it was dismantled.

In recent years, some sources state that during the Tsushima Battle on May 14 and 15, 1905, Rear-Admiral N. I. Nebogatov’s squadron (the battleships “Emperor Nikolay I” and “Oriol,” the coastal defense battleships “General-Admiral Apraksin” and “Admiral Seniavin,” and the cruiser “Izumrud”) was detected from the tower mounted on Dokdo.

Actually, it was detected on May, 15 at 5:20 a.m., 160 kilometers south of Ulleung Island, by the Japanese 5th warship detachment, and in five hours it was surrounded and captured by the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th Japanese fighting detachments approximately 32 kilometers south of Dokdo.

It was the occasion for publication, in the Japanese mass media, of photos of Dokdo as a place where the Japanese Navy beat the Russian Pacific fleet.

On Feb. 22, 1905, Shimane Prefecture’s governor signed “Official Announcement No. 40,” according to which Dokdo Islands were transferred to the jurisdiction of Oki Islands’ local authority.

It was also proclaimed in this document that the Japan’s actions to appropriate the uninhabited land were carried out according to the international law “About Initial Occupation.”

However, no written proof of this announcement has been found. Moreover, only on March 28, 1906 did officials from Shimane Prefecture, during a visit to Ulleung Island, announce that Dokdo had been annexed.

On May 17 of the same year, Dokdo Islands were included to the official Shimane Prefecture’s land cadastre as a state property.

This annexation was carried out without prior notification to the Korean emperor Gojong and his government and, of course, without their consent. Such perfidious appropriation of another country’s territory (besides being on an absolutely unconvincing basis) was obviously contrary to international law.

According to the law of that time and the current law, occupation of another country’s territory which has not been validated by international agreements is illegal.

Illegal occupation of Korean territory and, in particular, Dokdo, and the colonization of the civilian population continued till Sept. 2, 1945.

After signing the act of unconditional surrender by the Japanese armed forces, the new history of all countries in the Asian-Pacific region began.

The territories, which were occupied by force of arms, were returned to their former owners. Defeated Japan’s borders were established by the International Acts of the Allied Powers, which were at war with the country during World War II 1939-1945 (Cairo Declaration, 1943; Yalta Agreement, 1945; Potsdam Declaration, 1945; Act of Capitulation of Japan as of Sept. 2, 1945; and the San Francisco Treaty in 1951), according to which the Japan was adjudged an aggressor and punished for this, including territorially.

In particular, the Cairo Declaration of 1943 ordered the allies (the United States, Britain and China) “to punish Japan for its aggression… and to expel it from all… territories, which were occupied by it by force or as a result of its avidity…”

The Potsdam Declaration of 1945 limited the post-war territory of the Japan to the four main islands (Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu) and other smaller islands, which were specified by the victorious allies.

According to the above-listed international documents, as well as to the Headquarters of Allied Forces’ Directive No. 667 as of Jan. 29, 1946 (the Memorandum of the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, General of the Army D. MacArthur, to Japan’s imperial government), developed on their basis, the territories, which belonged to Korea before (Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and also Ulleung Island and Dokdo Islands) were returned to it.

Other small Korean islands (about 3,000) were not listed in the directive as they became parts of the areas of the Korea’s administrative jurisdiction and were shown on the special map used by the allied forces from 1946.

In spite of this, soon after the end of the World War II (1939-45), Japan made territorial claims to Korea. Thus in 1947, its representatives made a request to the government of the United States to recognize Dokdo (Takeshima) as an integral part of Japan.

This petition was rejected on the grounds of the Act of Capitulation of Japan as of Sept. 2, 1945, which refused Japanese claims to any islands, which were not “under its control at the moment of signing the act.”

Besides, Directive No. 667 of the Headquarters of the Allied Forces was still effective too.

After the declaration of the Republic of Korea on Aug. 15, 1948, representatives of the military command of the U.S. delegated all authority to Korea’s government. This authority extended completely over the re-formed country’s territory, including all South Korean islands and Dokdo.

In 1950, representatives of the United Nations and the U. S. Air Force’s command of the Pacific Region established the Korean Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ), which included Dokdo and has been effective till now.

In the same year, during preparation for the San Francisco conference, the “Treaty about the Location of the Former Japanese Territories” was signed with the participation of Japan.

Paragraph 3 of the Treaty stated that the Korean Peninsula and all the Korean islands, including Dokdo, were returned to Korea.

But Japan, having taken advantage of aggravation of the international situation, when the Cold War and the Korean War (1950-53) began, as well as supporting the United States, could exert pressure on the developers of the San Francisco Treaty.

As a result, the final text of the treaty stated that “Japan, recognizing Korea’s independence, waives all rights and claims for Korea, including Quelpart, Port Hamilton and Dagelet Islands…” (the Korean names of these large islands are Jeju, Geomun, and Ulleung islands, respectively).

The mention of Dokdo (Takeshima), which was initially given to Korea in the first draft of the treaty and to Japan in subsequent drafts, was removed under pressure from third countries, in particular New Zealand.

As a result, after signing the San Francisco Treaty, the status of Dokdo, as some politicians and scientists consider, became uncertain.

However this conclusion is untrue. Firstly, the fact of omission of Dokdo in the treaty does not form the basis for their exclusion from Korea and, especially, for their transfer to Japan.

Secondly, according to the practice of international law, coming into force of this treaty does not abrogate provisions of the other documents (for example, the Cairo Declaration of 1943, the Directive 667 of the Headquarters of the Allied Forces as of Jan. 29, 1946, the Treaty on the Location of the Former Japanese Territories in 1950), which declare withdrawal of these originally Korean islands from Japan’s jurisdiction, if it does not stipulate this specially.

Neither in the San Francisco Treaty signed on Sept. 8, 1951 by 48 countries nor in its ratification instrument as of April 28, 1952, are there any explanations regarding this.

Thus according to international law, based on treaties, agreements and declarations, which were adopted by the allied countries including Russia, the United States and Britain between 1943 and 1952, and which have remained legitimate till now, Dokdo is an integral part of Korea and all territorial claims by Japan are illegitimate.

Valeriy V. Glushkov is a professor of rail engineering at Moscow State University. He has many times addressed territorial issues between Korea and Japan at international conferences. He was an active participant of parliamentary hearings in the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on the question “South Kuril Islands: Economical, Political and Safety Problems” in 2002. <The Korea Times/Valeriy V. Glushkov>

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