America’s influence on the Senkaku islands territorial dispute (2010–2020)

The Senkaku islands territorial dispute between People’s Republic of China and Japan has already been in place for several decades. Despite the fact that China and Japan are the main parties in this case, there are several other parties that are somehow involved. For example, it is Taiwan (Republic of China) that plays a minor role in the dispute. Besides that, The United States of America, Japan’s biggest and closest ally, has always directly or indirectly participated in this conflict. The situation surrounding this territorial dispute constitutes a challenge for the US-Japan defensive alliance. It is also the same territorial dispute that became a kind of test of its effectiveness as well as its reliability. The chronological framework of the article represents the period of time during which the most significant changes re-garding the dispute took place. Nevertheless, the earlier periods of history which determined, for instance, the positions of the parties or the current state of the problem will also be considered for a full disclosure of the dispute. Territorial scope is limited to the East China sea and those countries that are somehow related to the dispute (People’s Republic of China, Japan, Taiwan and the USA). Therefore, the purpose of the article is to research in detail and characterize the impact that the US has on the progress of resolving this particular territorial dispute, as well as to determine its level of engagement in the conflict. To achieve these goals, an analysis of the key treaties, such as the Treaty of San Francisco, Japan/United States Security Treaty as well as the speeches and statements of the United States high-level officials has been made. In addition, materials taken from major mass media resources were actively used in the article, since they can be used to understand the current state of the problem and the recent events that took place in the East China Sea. Brief information, such as short history of the territorial dispute, is also provided in the article. As a result of researching the materials mentioned above, it became possible to realize what actions had been taken by the United States and also to determine the extent of any change in the Trump’s foreign policy regarding the Senkaku Islands territorial dispute comparing to similar foreign policy of Barack Obama’s administration, so we can certainly answer the question whether their position on the Senkakus dispute was consistent. The article also draws a conclusion whether Japan is receiving any kind of substantial support from the United States and also what kind of support it is – military or diplomatic.