샌프란시스코 체제 이후 일본의 소련 및 중국과의 국교정상화 과정 - ‘북방영토’, ‘오키나와’, ‘타이완 문제’의 지정학

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyze Japan’s negotiations for the normalization of diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union and China through the lens of the geopolitical triangle formed by the United States, China, and the Soviet Union surrounding Japan in the wake of the San Francisco Peace Treaty in East Asia. During the 1950s, the normalization negotiations between Japan and the Soviet Union unfolded within the framework of a geostrategic triangle involving the U.S., Japan, and the Soviet Union, centering on territorial issues. To counter Japan’s growing inclination toward the Soviet proposal—which sought to solidify Soviet sovereignty over the two strategically significant islands among the so-called “Northern Territories” as well as southern Sakhalin—the United States acted to constrain the conclusion of a Japan- Soviet peace treaty by returning the Amami Islands located north of Okinawa ahead of schedule and expressing political support for Japan’s claims to the “Northern Territories.” Following normalization with the Soviet Union, Japan had to settle for United Nations membership. In the 1970s, the “Taiwan issue” emerged as a central agenda item within the organic state geopolitical triangle among the U.S., Japan, and China during the normalization negotiations between Japan and China. While China built a strategic relationship with the U.S. to contain the Soviet Union, it also adopted a flexible stance by tolerating the continued U.S. military presence in Japan to prevent Japan’s remilitarization concerning Taiwan. For Japan, the negotiations with China—long regarded as part of its traditional geopolitical sphere— prompted a reassessment of the “One China, One Taiwan” concept and led to the normalization of diplomatic ties with the People’s Republic of China and the severance of official relations with Taiwan.