Historical Origin And Evolution Of Ryukyu Island's Ownership

The Ryukyu Islands,located in the Southwest Pacific Ocean,boast unique geographical superiority,with neighboring countries including China,Japan,theDemocratic People's Republic of Korea(DPRK)and the Southeast Asian countries.Since China and the Ryukyu Kingdom established their suzerain-vassal relations in the 14thcentury,the Ryukyu society has developed significantly.During the 14th to 15th century,the Ryukyu Kingdom boosted its overseas trade from the then Korea in the north to Samudra,Java and other Southeast Asian countries in the south,playing its role as a communication hub.From the 17th century after the invasion of Japan's Satsuma Domain,however,the islands fell into a situation that two sovereignties ruled over.them.And from 19th century,the islands were forced to open to the world by the Western colonists and then swallowed up by Japan,which moved the cornerstone of the suzerain-vassal relations between China and the Ryukyu Islands.Therefore,China and Japan started the negotiation concerning the sovereignty of the Ryukyu islands which was an outstanding problem.The issue of the sovereignty over the Ryukyu islands attracted the attention of relevant parties again from the late period of the Second World War.America had occupied the islands for 27 years in the name of UN trusteeship and Japan attempted to include the islands into its sphere of influence again.The KMT(Kuomintang)also varied its policy on the islands for several times.Amid such environment,the local people of the islands kept fighting for their own sovereignty on the land.This game played by the parties for the sovereignty over the islands had a vital influence on the relations amongthe East Asian countries.America "returned" the Ryukyu Islands to Japan in 1972,intensifying the contradiction between China and Japan.In recent years,the position and sovereignty of the Ryukyu Islands have received people's attention again due to America's Asia-Pacific Rebalance policy,the scheme of Japanese Right-Wing Forces to amend the Peace Constitution,and the dispute between China and Japan on the Diaoyu Islands.Due to its strategic significance,the Ryukyu Islands have become the target of major countries in fierce competition.For the past several hundred years,the problem of sovereignty over the Ryukyu Islands has involved interests of the relevant parties,reflecting their competitiveness in the Northeast Asia.The ups and downs of the Ryukyu Islands were the epitome of theinternational order in the Northeast Asia.Only by this can ensure lasting peace of the Northeast Asia.