Vassal System vs.International Law System:A Study on the Ryukyu Negotiations,1878-1881
In the Sino-Japanese negotiation over the Ryukyu status(1878-1881),the Qing court had no conception of the essential difference between fanshu under fanshu system(similar with but not equal to suzerainty-vassal re-lationship)and the vassal state under the international law system,and attempted to demonstrate that Ryukyu was both a fanshu and a vassal state.The Qing representatives also used the concept of autonomous kingdom to refute Japanese argumentation,but were soon overwhelmed by the international law jargon such as effective ju-risdiction and prescription.As a result,the Meiji government brought Ryukyu under its jurisdiction and alienat-ed it from the fanshu system.To preserve its status as the suzerain state,the Qing court proposed to"preserve the clan of Ryukyu"under the policy of"cherishing foreigners from afar and protecting inferior nations".The Japa-nese side hypocritically welcomed Ryukyu being incorporated into Chinese sovereignty by asking the Qing gov-ernment to uphold its responsibility to protect Ryukyu and prevent it from reviving its independent status.Ja-pan forcefully applied European international law in East Asia to dismantle and replace the fanshu system by the so-called axiom of European international law.The Qing court was unable to articulate and effectively respond because it was unaware of the incommensurability between the two distinct normative systems.Today,the histor-ic rights under the fanshu system are still governed by the international law that aims to undermine fanshu.How-ever,as the author argues,the various normative systems existing long before European international law may be conducive to the settlement of territorial disputes.
Ryukyuinternational lawfanshu systemphilosophy of historical time
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