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Why do American media ignore truth about the history of Diaoyu Islands?
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LATELY, the Diaoyu Islands have been in the news not only in China, but also in America. American news media organizations have consistently tried to portray China as the aggressor. Little time is ever spent on the history of the conflict, likely because Americans know little about history, nor do they care. All they care about is the last 60 years that America has enjoyed the role as global hegemon and self-appointed world policeman.
Chinese know the history much better, but the American news media seem uninterested in facts...only in rivalry.
The reality is that historically the Diaoyu Islands belonged to China until they were taken by Japan through war. Certainly countries do not deserve to keep territory that was acquired by starting war with their neighbors.
This is the American government’s position on Crimea in the Ukraine, but strangely the Diaoyu Islands are different. What seems most unbelievable is that in the 1950s, following Japan’s World War II defeat, it was the United States that granted Japan administration rights to the islands.
Why would it do that, given the history? It seems noteworthy that the United States has never actually claimed to judge who owns the islands...only who they gave administration rights to. Who made America not only the world’s policeman, but also the world’s judge?
Some in China theorize that America did this 60 years ago on purpose...to lay a time bomb that they could activate at any time. Perhaps it was simply done out of ignorance of history.
‘Divide and conquer’
However, that seems somewhat hard to believe. “Divide and conquer” has been a strategy of world powers for centuries. It benefits America if China and Japan fight. How did America become by far the most powerful country in the world? It was largely a result of US manufacturing enjoying a monopoly for two or three decades after World War II while the rest of the world lay in ruins.
The American media try to claim that China has been “changing the status quo.” That’s diplomatic language for “China started it.” However, that’s not true at all. Japan “changed the status quo” when it tried to nationalize the islands.
‘Green light’
Prior to that, China peacefully agreed to disagree about the island’s ownership. However, when the Japanese government claimed to legally and rightfully own the islands after purchasing them from a private owner, that served as an aggressive move. And everybody knows there is no way that Japan would ever take such an aggressive action unless they knew that America would protect them from any possible fallout.
To me, that means America almost certainly gave them the green light.
Why would America and Japan be doing this now? With national debt-to-GDP ratios of roughly 100 percent and 200 percent and companies that are increasingly becoming uncompetitive, perhaps America and Japan feel like aggression is their best choice.
However, the American media should at least be honest about the history. Why don’t the American media mention that China owned the islands before the first Sino-Japanese war? Why don’t they mention that the American government curiously awarded Japan the administration rights to the islands they previously stole? Why don’t they mention that it was Japan that changed the status quo? Why don’t they mention that it’s not Chinese warships and bombers that are permanently stationed near the American coast (instead it’s the American military near China’s coast that promises they’re just here to keep the peace)?
Most people in China want peace and not war. Let’s just hope those in America and Japan want the same thing.
Doug Pancoast is the author of “100 Controversial Truths About Politics and Culture in America” and founder of ControversialTruths.com.
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