China, Japan scholars seek way out in Diaoyu islands row

As fears grow over a simmering island dispute between China and Japan, scholars from both nations are hoping to lower the temperature with expansive talks in Washington in search of common ground.

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 US-based scholars from the two countries brought together experts – four from China, three from Japan – all day on 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 behaviour 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.