U.S. Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby on Feb. 23 condemned the repeated entry of Chinese maritime police vessels, which are responsible for maritime security, into what Japan considers “territorial waters” near the Diaoyu Islands since Feb. 6, after the implementation of China’s Maritime Police Law, which allows the Marine Police Bureau to use weapons on Feb. 1. The Marine Police Bureau has been condemned. John Kirby said, “We support Japan on the sovereignty of the Senkaku Islands, but on the 24th, senior U.S. Defense Department officials revised this statement.
Kirby’s statement is contrary to the consistent position of the United States, which has maintained a “neutral” position on the so-called “undetermined sovereignty” of the Diaoyu Islands since the 1970s, and has only emphasized the “sovereignty” of Okinawa along with the Diaoyu Islands. “However, in the 21st century, in order to restrain the challenge of China’s rapid rise to U.S. dominance in the Asia-Pacific region, the U.S. position that the Diaoyu Islands are the subject of Article 5 of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, which stipulates U.S. defense obligations to Japan, has become increasingly clear, but it still holds a neutral position on the sovereignty of the Diaoyu Islands. The U.S. position on the sovereignty of the Diaoyu Islands is becoming clearer.
But Kirby’s statement overturned the consistent U.S. position.
For this reason, the U.S. Department of Defense senior official 24, in response to a question from a Kyodo News reporter on the Diaoyu Islands, said that the principle of the U.S. government does not take a specific position on sovereignty while recognizing that it is under The Japanese regime remains unchanged.
This is actually a modification of the previous statement by Defense Department spokesman Kirby, who said he “supports Japanese sovereignty”.
According to Kyodo News, Kirby talked about Japan’s “sovereignty” when asked at a press conference on the 23rd, “What is your opinion on the Chinese Coast Guard official ship sailing into Japanese territorial waters around the Senkaku. On this matter, the senior Defense Ministry official stated that “there is no change in the policy of the United States”.
On the other hand, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin pointed out at a press conference on the 24th that the Diaoyu Islands and its subsidiary islands are China’s inherent territory. The U.S.-Japan Security Treaty is a product of the Cold War and should not undermine the interests of third parties, let alone jeopardize regional peace and stability.
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