China, Japan scholars seek way out in islands row

The academics acknowledged that Tokyo and Beijing have major differences over the territories in the East China Sea but they saw one fundamental point in common — neither side wanted the conflict to escalate into war.

A pair of U.S.-based scholars from the two countries brought together experts — four from China, three from Japan — all day Sunday to hear out views on the islands known as the Senkakus in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese.

The Chinese co-convener, Zheng Wang, found a “huge perception gap” between the two sides and said that rising nationalism in Asia's two largest economies made it difficult for leaders to take any action that could be seen as weak.

“Each side sees themselves as the victim and the other as the aggressor — 'they take aggressive behavior to change the status quo, and we are peace-loving countries,'” said Wang, a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

China and Japan both claim the potentially energy-rich islands in the East China Sea with each side offering historical arguments. The United States says it takes no ultimate position but considers Tokyo to hold effective control.

Incidents in 2010 and 2012 sent tensions soaring between U.S.-allied Japan and a rising China, with anti-Japanese protesters holding rare street demonstrations in China last year.

The Washington talks did not involve government representatives but several participants made suggestions in a personal capacity.

Tatsushi Arai, a visiting scholar of conflict resolution at George Mason University who convened the session with Wang, said his proposal amounted to “agree to disagree, through peaceful means.”

Arai laid out three options, including Japan affirming its sovereignty but acknowledging China's position. Japan insists that the islands are not disputed territory.

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