[Editorial] The Rules Of Engagement at the NLL Should Be Restored

The rules of engagement governing the defense of the Northern Limit Line (NLL) have reportedly been eased behind the public’s back. The current rules include new clauses that say, “When the North violates the NLL in order to investigate vessels of a third country or to rescue North Korean ships, its activities should be allowed,” and, “When there is no attempt by the North to nullify the NLL, cautionary measures should be taken.” The Ministry of Defense defended the new clauses as a measure to forestall armed conflict. However, the new rules will likely bring about the opposite.

All in all, it is hardly convincing that it was the July clash over the NLL that prompted the rules of engagement to be revised. What is at the core of the accident lies with the fact that the Navy did not report its communications with the North and not the way it responded to the North’s boat. What is more, the North attempted to deceive the Navy by falsely reporting that a Chinese fishing boat was sailing past the NLL. Why did such a chain of events lead to revised rules of engagement?

We have to question if the Navy considered the adverse effects its new measure would bring on its defense of the NLL. For instance, the commander on the first line of defense will have difficulty judging whether a North Korean Navy ship deliberately attempts to violate the NLL or if its actions are routine in the face of an urgent situation. The Navy’s demand for cautionary action amounts to a ban on warning shots. Is this what the Navy high command can order its sailors to do? Repeated permission given to Northern boats in pursuit of Chinese fishing boats past the NLL will likely be exploited by the North to invalidate the NLL.

Weak responses like the new rules may prompt more frequent and reckless violations of the NLL by the North. Who will be held responsible when any such violation costs human lives as it did in the 2002 naval clash?

The Navy should restore the old rules of engagement. What is urgent is to push the North to restore the navy hotline in the Yellow Sea, not a unilateral reconciliatory posture toward the North.