(三)美日私相授受釣魚島“施政權”

3. The United States and Japan conducted backroom deals concerning the "power of administration" over Diaoyu Dao

1971年6月17日，美日簽署《關于琉球諸島及大東諸島的協定》(簡稱“歸還沖繩協定”)，將琉球群島和釣魚島的“施政權”“歸還”給日本。海內外中國人對此同聲譴責。同年12月30日，中國外交部發表嚴正聲明指出：“美、日兩國政府在‘歸還’沖繩協定中，把我國釣魚島等島嶼列入‘歸還區域’，完全是非法的，這絲毫不能改變中華人民共和國對釣魚島等島嶼的領土主權。”臺灣當局對此也表示堅決反對。

On June 17, 1971, Japan and the United States signed the Agreement Concerning the Ryukyu Islands and the Daito Islands (Okinawa Reversion Agreement), which provided that any and all powers of administration over the Ryukyu Islands and Diaoyu Dao would be "returned" to Japan. The Chinese people, including overseas Chinese, all condemned such a backroom deal. On December 30, 1971, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a solemn statement, pointing out that "it is completely illegal for the government of the United States and Japan to include China's Diaoyu Dao Islands into the territories to be returned to Japan in the Okinawa Reversion Agreement and that it can by no means change the People's Republic of China's territorial sovereignty over the Diaoyu Dao Islands". The Taiwan authorities also expressed firm opposition to the backroom deal between the United States and Japan.

面對中國政府和人民的強烈反對，美國不得不公開澄清其在釣魚島主權歸屬問題上的立場。1971年10月，美國政府表示，“把原從日本取得的對這些島嶼的施政權歸還給日本，毫不損害有關主權的主張。美國既不能給日本增加在他們將這些島嶼施政權移交給我們之前所擁有的法律權利，也不能因為歸還給日本施政權而削弱其他要求者的權利。……對此等島嶼的任何爭議的要求均為當事者所應彼此解決的事項”。同年11月，美國參議院批準“歸還沖繩協定”時，美國國務院發表聲明稱，盡管美國將該群島的施政權交還日本，但是在中日雙方對群島對抗性的領土主張中，美國將采取中立立場，不偏向于爭端中的任何一方。

United States and Japan.

In response to the strong opposition of the Chinese government and people, the United States had to publicly clarify its position on the sovereignty over Diaoyu Dao. In October 1971, the US administration stated that "the United States believes that a return of administrative rights over those islands to Japan, from which the rights were received, can in no way prejudice any underlying claims. The United States cannot add to the legal rights Japan possessed before it transferred administration of the islands to us, nor can the United States, by giving back what it received, diminish the rights of other claimants... The United States has made no claim to Diaoyu Dao and considers that any conflicting claims to the islands are a matter for resolution by the parties concerned." In November 1971, when presenting the Okinawa Reversion Agreement to the US Senate for ratification, the US Department of State stressed that the United States took a neutral position with regard to the competing Japanese and Chinese claims to the islands, despite the return of administrative rights over the islands to Japan.