Present-day international relations in NE Asia are inextricably conflated with ongoing history disputes. It really is quite a headache at times. Although China and Japan appear to have placed some of their differences behind them in favor of building friendly atmospherics and strengthening trade (which isn’t to say they’re on the same page — merely that they’re finding it mutually beneficial to pretend to be friends), the latest row is between Japan and South Korea over history textbook guidelines and a few sorry rocks out in the middle of the sea.

Known as Takeshima in Japan, Dokdo/Tokdo in South Korea, and the Liancourt Rocks in the US, the disputed territory consists of two “islets” and a scattering of “rocky outcrops” in the Sea of Japan. While the islands themselves are nothing to write home about, the surrounding sea is rich in fishing and possibly natural gas.

South Korea has physically controlled the territory since July 1954, and there are two permanent Korean citizens, Kim Seong-do and Kim Shin-yeol. The islets are 217 km (135 mi) from mainland Korea and 250 km (150 mi) from mainland Japan.

Of course, the ownership of these rocks has been a persistent irritant in Japan-ROK relations since the end of Japanese colonial rule, but the recent flare-up was sparked by new Japanese middle school curriculum guidelines that say teachers should treat “the northern territories as part of [Japan's] territory,” while also instructing educators “to provide a deeper understanding of [Japan's] territory” by treating the Takeshima islets “in a manner comparable to that used in dealing with the northern territories.” According to Japanese media, the ministry of education initially considered having the manual incorporate the phrase “Takeshima is an integral part of our country” but softened its wording our of “diplomatic consideration for South Korea.” Although the guidelines are not legally binding, they serve as a guideline for the editing of school textbooks by publishers and for classroom teaching.

So I suppose you could say that Tokyo was asking for trouble by publishing the new guidelines — but it’s also true that South Korea has taken the insult and run with it. In addition to recalling its ambassador, the ROK >a href=”http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSSP142224″ target=_new>also dispatched its prime minister on a brief tour of the islands, and the South Korean Navy said it would conduct a joint drill with the Air Force in defense of the islands tomorrow. Japan, in response, has urged the ROK “handle the issue cool-headedly” — a little too late for that, I’ll say.

So the question now is whether this will be simply a flash-in-the-pan that fans dislike on both sides but disappears before too much diplomatic damage occurs or whether it will have lasting negative effects on regional issues, such as the six-party talks and the Japan-ROK-China trilateral meeting scheduled for September. We shall definitely see….