By Sunny Lee
Korea Times Correspondent
BEIJING ― China thinks America's position will play a decisive role in the Dokdo dispute, while it sees Japanese military power far outstrips that of Korea, in the case of a full-blown military conflict between the two nations.
``Both Korea and Japan have American forces stationed there. In case of war, they both will have to look up to America,'' the Chinese Newsweek, a news weekly published by the state-owned China News Service, recently said in a two-page article.
America runs war-time control of the Korean military, while Japan's Navy and Air Force are de facto integrated with the U.S. military. Therefore, without American agreement, Korea will have difficulty in mobilizing its military force to engage in a full-scale battle with Japan. At the same time, without an American nod, Japan will also have difficulty in mobilizing its Navy and Air Force, the article reasoned.
The article concluded: ``In the Dokdo dispute, therefore, the American position will become the decisive factor. The party that earns American support will clearly win the military battle.''
Throughout the piece, the Korean term ``Dokdo'' is used, while the Japanese term, Takeshima, is followed in parenthesis.
The article also reflects what many Chinese scholars believe: America values Japan over Korea. ``For America, Japan is much more important than Korea. But America doesn't necessarily need to give up Korea. So, it has moved to pressure both sides so as not to elevate the Dokdo issue to a military confrontation,'' it said, adding ``America will use the Dokdo card to influence its relationship with Japan and Korea.''
As for Korea's firm stance on Dokdo, despite the fact that its combined total Navy and Air Force are only a third of Japan's, it said ``Politically, it is very difficult for Korea to accept Japan's occupation of Dokdo.''
It then pointed out another factor why Korea would still likely fare on an equal footing with Japan if war occurred. ``Japan has territorial disputes with many of its neighboring countries. To the north, it has one with Russia over the Kuril Islands; to the west it has disputes with both Koreas on Dokdo; and to the south it has one with China Regarding the Diaoyutai Islands.''
``For Korea, it doesn't have any serious military confrontation except with North Korea. If a war breaks out, it will be able to mobilize most of its Navy and Air Force power on Dokdo; while Japan can mobilize, at the most, only a third of its Navy and Air Force power,'' for fear of the advancement of the other countries with which it has territorial disputes, it said.
``Perhaps, that's why Korea's attitude on Dokdo is very tough,'' it said.
The article predicts that the Dokdo dispute will continue for the foreseeable future, while Korea is very likely to remain in actual control of Dokdo.