| Date | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, September 20, 2013 | 2:00PM - 4:00PM | Seminar Room 108N, Munk School of Global Affairs 1 Devonshire Place |
In 1968, a survey revealed that enormous oil reserves likely lie beneath some uninhabited islands then regarded as Japanese (known in Japan as the Senkaku, in the People’s Republic of China as the Diaoyu, and in the Republic of China on Taiwan as the Tiaoyutai). That led to both China and Taiwan asserting historically-based claims to the area; but as part of the agreement establishing normal diplomatic relations between the PRC and Japan in 1972, the two governments agreed to shelve the issue of ownership.
Recent years have seen more assertive foreign policy behavior from China, backed by its burgeoning economic and military power. Increasing pressure from Beijing to claim the islands has been met with a resolve from Japan to solidify its jurisdiction over them. The dispute has escalated since a clash in 2010 between a Chinese fishing boat and Japanese coast guard ships, with some observers predicting that ownership of the islands could be the catalyst for war. This talk will examine the claims of the three sides as well as the economic and security implications involved in the islands’ ultimate disposition.
June Teufel Dreyer is Professor of Political Science at the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, where she teaches courses on China, U.S. defense policy, and international relations. Formerly senior Far East specialist at the Library of Congress, she has also served as Asia policy advisor to the Chief of Naval Operations and as commissioner of the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission established by the U.S. Congress. Professor Teufel Dreyer’s most recent book is China’s Political System: Modernization and Tradition, ninth edition in press. A partially-completed manuscript on Sino-Japanese relations is under contract from Oxford University Press. Professor Teufel Dreyer received her BA from Wellesley College and her MA and PhD from Harvard, and has lived in China and Japan and paid several visits to Taiwan. She has published widely on the Chinese military, China-Taiwan relations, Sino-Japanese relations, ethnic minorities in China, and Chinese foreign policy.
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