再论《旧金山对日和约》关于西沙、南沙群岛的规定及影响

New Arguments on the Arrangement of the Xisha( Paracel)and Nansha( Spratly) Islands in the Treaty of Peace with Japan and its Impact

1951年的《旧金山对日和约》只规定了日本放弃西沙群岛和南沙群岛,而没有规定这些岛屿的主权归属,这主要是因为美国当时认识到了中法等国在这些岛屿的主权归属问题上存在争议,美国难以解决这一争议问题;美国与英国围绕对日和会与对日和约问题的分歧,以及美英当时轻视南海诸岛的战略和经济价值,也是导致它们在该条约中没有规定这些岛屿归属的原因。防止这些岛屿落入新中国的手中并不是导致美国在条约中做出这种规定的主要原因。《旧金山对日和约》并不是南海争端的"根源"或"祸根",它也没有为后来的菲律宾及越南的南海领土主张提供任何法理支持,因此,不宜夸大《旧金山对日和约》的相关规定对中国所产生的消极影响。

The Treaty of Peace with Japan signed in 1951 at San Francisco forced Japan to renounce its rights and claims to the Xisha( Paracel) and Nansha( Spratly) islands in the South China Sea. However,the sovereignty of these islands was not determined in this treaty. The main reason was that the U. S. knew but could not settle the disputes between China and France over the sovereignty of these islands. Such decision was made also due to the divergences between the U. S. and Britain on the issue of the San Francisco conference and the treaty with Japan,and due to the fact that the two governments overlooked the value of these islands. To prevent these islands from falling into the hands of People's Republic of China was not the chief concern in the making of the decision. The Treaty of Peace with Japan is not the origin or bane of the South China Sea sover-eignty disputes,and this treaty has not provided any legal bases for the claims of Philippines and Vietnam to those islands.Therefore,the negative influence of this treaty to China should not be overstated.