“Korea-Japan Fisheries Agreement Did Not Damage the Territorial Right of Dok-Do”

Although controversies over the Korea-Japan fisheries agreement is settling down, sparks over `Dok-do` matters will not be resolved easily. According to the government and experts on the 28th, Korea, China, and Japan will have many obstacles in demarcating the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). As long as Japan does not change its viewpoint, Dok-do matters will be the biggest obstacle.

Too small to draw a 200-mile line around the peninsula-

Korea and Japan in 1996, and China in 1998, officially announced the 200-mile EEZ. Unfortunately, however, the sea area around the Korean peninsula does not exceed 400 miles in width.

In order to satisfy the two neighboring countries, a line must be drawn somewhere, but all three countries have different opinions on where to draw the line. Many agreements and troubles are inevitable before the finalization of the EEZ boundary.

The agreement on the fisheries is a temporary agreement for fishing activities under such conditions. Korea, China, and Japan each signed agreements and took temporary measures in 6 areas where no agreements were met.

Dok-do’s EEZ?-

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Treaties Bureau director Shin Kak-Soo said, "Korea-Japan fisheries agreement is a temporary treaty before the finalization of the EEZ. The issue of whether to take Dok-do as the starting point of the EEZ is one of the agenda items in the EEZ boundary negotiations."

The government is neither claiming that they will yield on the Dok-do issue, nor showing a strong will to protect the island`s territorial right. Director Shin said, "It looks like Dok-do will have little or no impact in the EEZ finalization, considering its location and size."

Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries authorities explained, "Even if we don’t insist on Dok-do for its own EEZ, it is the government’s policy to include it in the Korean EEZ boundary."

If the government surrenders Dok-do’s EEZ in the EEZ boundary negotiations, strong opposition is expected from private organizations.

Different principles over EEZ-

The 3 countries, Korea, China, and Japan, are in the position of drawing the EEZ line at the `same distance` from their own territorial waters. However, none of them have the same definitions, and even the notion of the `same distance` is different for each.

The Korean government is not recognizing the territorial waters of China and Japan. Also, Korea and Japan agree on the same distance for the `middle line`, but China insists on a `parallel line` considering the length of its territorial waters and the size of its land.

The boundary for the Korea-Japan Joint Continental Shelf Development Area also needs to be finalized after 2028, but scholars explain that there is no international customs established on the continental shelf boundary.

Kwang-Am Cheon iam@donga.com