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Analysis: China moves to play 'Okinawa card' over Japan's Taiwan stance
'Ryukyu research center' could reverse Beijing's position since Mao era
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Sing Tao Daily, a Hong Kong newspaper, reported on Sept. 3 that Dalian Maritime University plans to open "a Ryukyu research center" to conduct studies on Okinawa. The Ryukyu Islands is the old name for the southernmost Japanese prefecture, which was the Ryukyu Kingdom for 450 years from 1429 to 1879.
If set up, it will be the first research center specializing in Okinawa at a higher education institution in China. The military-linked university is located in the port city of Dalian in northeastern China's Liaoning province.
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The headline of the Hong Kong newspaper article referred to the "Ryukyu card," suggesting that China is making preparations to bring up the issue of Okinawa's status as part of Japan as a key weapon to warn Tokyo against interfering in the Taiwan issue, which Beijing claims as an internal affair.
Now, this is an interesting ploy by China. The most obvious flaw is that the people of Okinawa do not claim to not be a part of Japan and do not have their own central government.