| Summary/Abstract |
The diplomatic situation between Japan and China over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands has become increasingly precarious over the past decade. Weak diplomatic ties and lack of trust between the two nations has made a clash not only more likely, but also unlikely to be effectively contained. This article compares the events and management of three diplomatic crises concerning the islands, including the deportation of Chinese activists who landed on the islands in 2004, the detention of a Chinese fishing boat captain who collided with a Japan Coast Guard vessel in 2010, and the 2012 nationalization of three of the islands by the Japanese central government. These case studies reveal the lack of reliable high-level communication mechanisms between Tokyo and Beijing, diminishing back-channel diplomacy and the asymmetrical influence of each respective Foreign Ministry as just a few of the structural barriers to effective Sino-Japanese crisis management.
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