The Senkaku Islands and Japan
173Security cooperation and capacity building with ASEAN countries
The Philippines have had a territorial dispute with the PRC over the
Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea since the 1990’s and have
asked Japan to support the establishment of their maritime law-enforcement
capability. Japan signed a memorandum on security cooperation with
the Philippines in July 2012. The memorandum includes joint maritime
exercises and the sharing of information about maritime security. When
the Japanese PM Abe visited Manila in July 2013, he offered a donation of
ten new 40m class patrol boats,^18 a wireless communication system, and
exercise assistance for the Coast Guard of Philippines.
Vietnam also has had a territorial issue with the PRC since 1974, over
the islands in the South China Sea. Vietnam is a coastal state of the South
China Sea, where many Japanese ships navigate daily, and also suffers
from the shortage of effective maritime law-enforcement capabilities.
Japan has cooperated with Vietnam in the field of medical technologies for
submarine crews since 2012. When Vietnam asked Japan to supply
second-hand patrol boats, Japan offered a supply of ten patrol boats as
Official Development Assistance (ODA) in May 2013. Yet currently, the
Vietnam Marine Police belongs to the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) and
Japan’s ODA guideline prohibits supplying materials and funds to a
military organization. Japan has therefore asked Vietnam to separate the
Marine Police from the VPA and Vietnam is planning to reorganize the
Marine Police.
Special cooperation with the Republic of China
Cooperation with the Republic of China (ROC)^19 has exclusive importance
for Japan as it prevents cooperation between the PRC and the ROC on the
(^18) According to a news report from Sankei Shimbun on 31 March 2013, the
Philippines divide their surrounding waters into 12 control areas for the coast
guard but they have only three patrol boats bigger than 35m and able to patrol on
the high sea due to a shortage of funds.
(^19) The Ryukyu Islands, including the Senkaku Islands, was under American
military rule from August 1945 until May 1972. During that period, it was quite
rare for Japanese fishing boats to go fishing around the Senkaku Islands. Instead,
Taiwanese fishing boats enjoyed rich fishing points around the Islands. From this
historical fact, if there were any disputable issues related to the Senkaku Islands,
they should have caused problems between Japan and the ROC, not the PRC. It is
quite important to note that, according to several official documents and maps,
ROC authorities recognized the Senkaku Islands as a Japanese territory until 1971.