The Impact of China’s Claim over the East China Sea on Sino-Japanese Relations

The main objective of this study was to establish an explanation for China's decade's long unwillingness to drop its territorial claim The specific objectives included the following: To examine China's justification for its claim; To account for the historical claims; To determine the role of the external actors in the issue. Hegemonic Stability Theory and Geopolitical Theory was used in support of the claims. A qualitative method of research was utilized. The findings were divided into historical, political, legal and economic claims to justify China and Japan's claims. The role of the external actors such as the U.S and the UN is seen to have helped the escalation of the dispute. The study concludes that China's claims are due to historical injustices in the past by Japan's oppression that is why China is aggressive towards Japan. The study recommends that Chinese and Japanese scholars engage in academic dialogues due to the conflicting historical claims and establish a high-level council on the East China Sea.