The Sinking of the S.S. Kowshing: International Law, Diplomacy, and the Sino-Japanese War

Abstract

AbstractIn July 1894, the Japanese navy sank the British steamshipKowshing, leased by China to transport troops to Korea. Diplomatic negotiations over compensation for the loss of the ship persisted for the next decade. In insisting upon China's responsibility, the British Foreign Office forsook the judgments of international legal experts and demonstrated that its main goals were to support British commercial interests and to encourage the position of Japan in East Asia. The surprising denoument of theKowshingincident was China's payment of damages for the ship in 1903.