Japan to win support from G7 for Dokdo Islet issue

The Japanese government plans to state that a country that is involved in a dispute over a territorial sovereignty issue will be bound by the judgment of the International Court of Justice in the statement of the G7 Summit to be held Hiroshima on Sunday and Monday, the Japan Times said.

On the surface, it seems to target China, which has a dispute over a territory in South China Sea with the Philippines. However, watchers say that this is for the rocky islets of Dokdo over which Japan has a dispute with Korea.

The Philippines is at loggerheads with China over the Spratly Islands (Nansha in Chinese) and the case is brought to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, which is holding hearings. The statement to be issued by the Japanese foreign minister is expected to contain that they share a serious concern over China’s unilateral actions which escalate tensions in the region by developing gas fields in East China Sea and making South China Sea as a military base.

As Japan has claimed that the Dokdo islets belong to its territory and urged the case to be brought to the International Court of Justice (ICT), some analysts say it would apply the statement to the issue. The newspaper said, “(The Japanese government) has shown that it would file a petition on the Dokdo islets issue to the ICT, putting an emphasis on a judicial resolution.”

However, Korea did not recognize compulsory jurisdiction, which mandates a country where a petition is filed to attend trials upon joining the ICJ. For such reason, the ICJ cannot intervene if Korea refuses to Japan’s action.

도쿄=장원재특파원 peacechaos@donga.com