War between China and Japan?

China and Japan are currently engaged in a potentially violent conflict over territorial disputes surrounding the East China Sea. The territorial dispute is in regards to a group of Japanese controlled islands known as Senkaku. Over the past year there has been an escalation of military exercises on part of both countries in an attempt to maintain control of the islands, specifically the air space above them. There is worriment that either a political or military mistake on either side could result in and escalated conflict between not only Japan, China, and the United States.

China has recently announced the implementation of a new air defense zone surrounding the Japanese Senkaku islands which would have implications regarding airline companies and Chinese control over fight plans in the disputed territories. This move by China was not received well by Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo who commented on the potential occurrence of accidents in the air over the islands. There was also a report by the Wall Street Journal stating that two US B-52 bombers were seen flying over the islands challenging the air defense zone.

 There have been other reports of escalated Japanese naval traffic around the Japanese islands and Chinese military aircraft in the region has caused Japan to scramble fighter jets more and more frequently. China is accusing Japan of “dangerous provocation” because Japan ordered military naval and air powers to get too close to a Chinese military exercise including live ammunition. In addition Japan has placed missiles on the islands as a part of a massive military drill which enraged the Chinese capital.

 This conflict has both a long and short history. The islands used to belong to China until 1890 when Japan took the islands over. Previously they dated back to the Qing Dynasty, but China did not seem to be interested in the islands until the 1960’s. One of the main causes of this conflict is competition. According to the David G. Myers in his textbook “Social Psychology,” Competition is defined as hostilities that arise “when groups compete for scarce jobs, housing, or resources. When interests clash, conflict erupt… (488)” The islands are so important to the two Asian countries because the islands are said to have unknown quantities of natural resources buried within the sea bed. Competition may be an important factor in the escalation of this conflict, but it has turned into a larger issue than just control over resources.

This phenomenon, also known as evolving motives, may be defined, again, by David G. Myers. In the textbook it says, “… motives often change. At first, people are eager to make some easy money, then to minimize their losses, and finally to save face and avoid defeat. (485)” This conflict has evolved into something that now concerns nationalism. China feels that its government’s legitimacy may be questioned if it cannot maintain this level of territorial integrity. Japan is reacting to China’s recent surge in economic and military power by becoming more nationalized and has also increased the pace of it militarization. So even though this dispute may have started out as competition over land and resources, it has evolved into a matter of national pride. In China and Japan, backing down does not seem to be an option because the political price would be devastating.

 There are always peaceful and diplomatic resolutions that can be obtained over such disputes but it seems that for the time being Japan and China seem content on flexing their political and military power. China has a history of attempting win-win situations but this doesn’t seem to be the current strategy of the growing country as it becomes hungrier for power and influence. David G. Meyers describes a concept in his textbook known as Non-Zero-Sum Games. These are defined as “games in which outcomes need not sum to zero. With cooperation, both can win; with competition, both can lose (also called mixed-motive situations).(486)” Because both countries are choosing a competitive strategy they are both losing out certain opportunity costs such as focusing on other more important issues.

 Another reason why the conflict persists is due to an unwillingness to take responsibility for their own motives. Both China and Japan are viewing each other with mirror image perceptions. These perceptions may be defined by David G. Meyers in the textbook as “reciprocal views of each other often held by parties in conflict; for example, each may view itself as moral and peace-loving and the other as evil and aggressive. (492)” Because of the nationalistic values each country each respective country is pursuing, neither side is willing to admit that they are at fault. On the contrary, Japan and China both believe they have rights to the islands, they are only reacting to a situation that they did not cause, and that the opposite country is being aggressive and evil.

 This situation will most likely not result in armed conflict. Both China and Japan know that if they are ever to become involved in planned warfare that both countries would lose out on much more than they ever intended to gain. Especially amid a worldwide recession, each country would be wise to resolve for a cooling off period in which they can come back together at a later time to resolve the issue creatively, diplomatically, and peacefully.

Works Consulted

Jackson, Allison. "War between Japan and China is an accident waiting to happen." Global Post. Global Post, 25 Nov 2013. Web. 12 Dec 2013. <http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/131121/china-japan-senkaku-diaoyu-islands-dispute-war >.

Meyers, David. Social Psychology. 11th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 480-496. Print.