Two Koreas May Discuss Japan’s Dokdo Incursion

[hypnotik]

"The two Koreas may discuss the threatened incursion of a Japanese research vessel into Korea’s exclusive economic zone during the inter-Korean ministerial talks starting in Pyongyang this Friday. Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday he would “talk to the unification minister” about the matter.

Ban was answering a question from Uri Party lawmaker Choi Sung in the National Assembly. Asked if Korea will seize the Japanese research vessel if it violates the EEZ in the course of what Japan claims is a hydrographic survey near Dokdo, Ban said, “Concrete steps will be determined depending on how the situation progresses.” The chief diplomat agreed with commentators that it is “highly likely that Japan is attempting to turn the sensitive Dokdo area into an area of territorial dispute by violating our sovereignty over the islets.”

Feathers were ruffled when the minister expressed disappointment that opposition Grand National Party leader Park Geun-hye will not attend a Cheong Wa Dae meeting on the issue. “I think that bipartisan consultations are more necessary than ever to resolve such critical issues as Dokdo,” he said. Opposition party members responded by asking if it made a difference if dozens of politicians “have lunch and talk about it” when the government has “no clear position on the issue” and denounced Ban’s remark as “inappropriate.” Ban in response apologized for “any miscommunication” in delivering his message.

Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department on Monday said it will continue to adhere to a policy of not taking sides on the issue of Japanese designs on Korea’s Dokdo islets. A State Department official said the U.S. is hoping that the two countries can resolve the issue in an amicable manner."

http://english.chosun.com/media/photo/news/200604/200604180013_00.jpg
In the midst of fears over the rising tensions between Japan and Korea over the former’s plans to conduct a hydrographical survey in the waters surrounding the Dokdo islets, the unwavering determination to defend the homeland can be seen in the eyes of a soldier guarding the area.

[Niloc]

The whole point is that the islets are disputed, so by making the blind statement of claiming the islands you are doing exactly what the Japanese government is doing by conducting the survey.

If the Korean government takes the vessels then they will be violating international law in the eyes of the Japanese because, to the Japanese, the waters around Takeshima (Dokdo) are under Japanese jurisdiction.

If Japan goes through with this proposal Korea is in a right pickle aren't they? The Japanese can play the victim card by stating that their peaceful mission to scout out their "own" waters was sabotaged, and their citizens were taken into custody by a group of people who have had no right to do so.

Good luck, can't say that you didn't see this coming did you?

I guess all that is left to see is whether or not the Korean Military will really blow the living daylights out of the Japanese vessels like many people here have said they would if something like this were to happen.

Tata-

[spejic]

This isn't worth two threads. Can someone merge them?

[Shaster]

The whole point is that the islets are disputed, so by making the blind statement of claiming the islands you are doing exactly what the Japanese government is doing by conducting the survey.

If the Korean government takes the vessels then they will be violating international law in the eyes of the Japanese because, to the Japanese, the waters around Takeshima (Dokdo) are under Japanese jurisdiction.

If Japan goes through with this proposal Korea is in a right pickle aren't they? The Japanese can play the victim card by stating that their peaceful mission to scout out their "own" waters was sabotaged, and their citizens were taken into custody by a group of people who have had no right to do so.

Good luck, can't say that you didn't see this coming did you?

I guess all that is left to see is whether or not the Korean Military will really blow the living daylights out of the Japanese vessels like many people here have said they would if something like this were to happen.

Tata-


Japan's claim on this islet (and many other places) was at 1870s/1900s when Japan became a military power and started to invade other countries. All those places should return to original owners after Japan defeated at end of World War II. Guess the US left over some disputed issues, so it can play a mediator role later when disputes escalated. Exactly what British did on many of places (such as India/Pakistan).

[Niloc]

Japan's claim on this islet (and many other places) was at 1870s/1900s when Japan became a military power and started to invade other countries. All those places should return to original owners after Japan defeated at end of World War II. Guess the US left over some disputed issues, so it can play a mediator role later when disputes escalated. Exactly what British did on many of places (such as India/Pakistan).

Their claim to these particular lsles is not quite the same as thier claim to other colonies that they took over during their rise to military power. The Japanese government claims that with regard to Takeshima (Dokdo), the isles were Terra Nullis, and that any claim by the Korean government to soverienty over said isles before the Japanese claimed them were bogus at best. As such when the Isles were offficially encoporated within the territory of the Japanese State they became just that, sovereign territory of Japan.

Whether you agree with this or not is up to you. Korea choses not to agree to it. Korea is claiming that Japan is going to invade their EEV. But for all intents and purposes, to the Japanese, Koreans have been occupying their land for roughly 60 years now.

What the Japanese are doing is forcing the issue, and if they really do believe in what they state (ie that the isles are theirs) then they are doing the right thing.

Japan has played their move, its now up to Korea to see what they will do. If they want to act tough and all that then they will face an outcry from Japan and possibly the US. If they let it happen then it will look like they lack a spine. I would say that at the moment Korea is facing quite a pickle wouldn't you?

[hypnotik]

A Call to Diplomatic Arms

"A Japanese Coast Guard vessel that left Tokyo on Tuesday arrived at Sakai Harbor, Tottori Prefecture on the coast near the Dokdo islets. It struck out again on Wednesday and may or may not be poised to start surveying the seas near Dokdo by Thursday. President Roh Moo-hyun told a meeting with ruling and opposition party representatives on Tuesday, "While we have been conducting a silent diplomacy for several years, Japan has been shifting to the offensive. If a Japanese government vessel intrudes into our exclusive economic zone, we have no alternative but to regard it as an act of invasion." The Korea Coast Guard has decided to deploy 18 patrol vessels to stop the Japanese vessel from intruding.

The sea regions Japan plans to survey are set with Dokdo as the point of reference. Underlying Japan's ostensible survey is a plan to damage our territorial rights over the islets. Of course we have to stop it.

But our fight cannot be confined to the seas; it is simultaneously being waged on the stage of the international community. A survey vessel is not classified as a civilian vessel like a fishing boat, but as a government ship. If it is seized by our maritime police, Japan would immediately refer us to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. Should that happen, the Dokdo islets and nearby seas would become a conflict area in the eyes of the international community, and chances are that a court ruling would be favorable to Japan. That is the very scenario Japan has in mind. Maritime law experts advise our maritime police to keep the Japanese ship out of the waters in question but refrain from seizing it.

Japan has started translating words to the effect that the Korean islets are Japanese territory into action. The new Japanese leadership, including Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, is armed with unilateral thinking that there is no need to consider their country’s Asian neighbors. Japan also believes that the United States, which in the past would have intervened before a Korea-Japan dispute got out of hand, values its relationship with Tokyo more. <-- of course the Japan is a good suck-up

The plan in Tokyo has long been to eventually take the Dokdo issue to the International Court of Justice. The tactic would use the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, where the conflict mechanism is simple, as a stepping stone. The planned hydrographic survey in seas near Dokdo is a small part of the big picture.

The government has neglected the matter for 27 long years, ever since the Japanese government in 1978 registered Japanese names for sea regions it now intends to re-survey with the International Hydrographical Organization. That Japan is ready to continue its provocation is not due to the "silent diplomacy" referred to by the president but to a totally "unprepared diplomacy" that has failed to anticipate the tactic.

If the government is so incompetent, the people must take over. Each citizen must make it clear that they are willing to safeguard the Dokdo islets and repel Japan's stealthy invasion."

********* is all bull$hit

[hypnotik]

Japan Calls Off Dogs in Dokdo Dispute

The Japanese government has decided to postpone a hydrographic survey that was scheduled to intrude into Korea’s exclusive economic zone near Dokdo this week. But tensions remain high since Japan says it will go ahead with the incursion if diplomatic efforts between Seoul and Tokyo fail. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said Thursday talks to find a “satisfactory solution” are going on through informal channels, and Tokyo is keeping a close eye on the process. The country’s Foreign Minister Taro Aso told a Diet standing committee, “We are trying to avoid any unexpected results.” Aso, too, said Tokyo was negotiating through diplomatic channels to bring a peaceful resolution to the issue.” But he insisted the survey will go ahead “in a calm and methodical manner.”

Despite warnings from Seoul, two survey ships of the Japanese Coast Guard were dispatched to the closest point to Dokdo on the Japanese coast and lie at anchor off Sakai Harbor in Tottori Prefecture, awaiting orders to proceed. But the Japanese Coast Guard said 6-7 m waves and a strong gale in the East Sea, quite apart from political and diplomatic considerations, will make embarking difficult. The Chokai, an Aegis destroyer, and 22 escort ships moored in nearby Maizuru Harbor have been engaged in joint drills since Tuesday. Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi arrives in Korea Friday to help settle the issue. Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called in Japanese Ambassador Shotaro Oshima to demand the plan be scrapped. Ban warned if Japan goes through with the survey, Korea will consider it an act of invasion and would have no choice but to respond decisively.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice said analysis of international law suggests that the question of sovereignty over Dokdo is not a matter for the International Court of Justice. It has passed related materials to the Foreign Ministry stating that since Dokdo is both historically and in fact Korean territory, it cannot become the object of an international dispute. In other words, Korea has no reason to respond to the issue in the International Court as Japan is apparently hoping.

[Niloc]

why is it that the Korean media only calls the Sea of Japan the East Sea and only calls Takeshima Dokdo. Almost all other papers around the world refer to both names (and in the case of the Sea name, the Sea of Japan is the official name of that body of water).

And if the Koreans do seize the Japanese boats they will have no choice but to answer the world for an "act of aggression." Unless this matter is decided and agreed upon by all parties (not just koreans burning themselves and cutting off fingers) the isles are "disputed."

[melonbarmonster]

1. Do you know that King Kojong registered Dokdo into Korean records in 1900 and that there were skirmishes and disputes as early as the late 1800's with Japan ceding sovergnty EVERY SINGLE TIME?

2. Did you know that Japan had murdered the Korean empress, had an army in Korea and claimed protectorate status of Korea when the 1905 Shimane Prefecture "claimed" Dokdo? So Japan is the diplomatic protectorate of Japan after effectively killing and subjugating Korean government and then claims that Dokdo is Japanese terra nullis? Does that sound legal, moral or make any sense to you?

3. Do you seriously, honestly believe that an island that Koreans have been staring at, fishing at and that Japan has known about for thousands of years can be "claimed" by a protectorate government in 1905??? Give me a break. At best that's an argument trying to legalize thievery.

Their claim to these particular lsles is not quite the same as thier claim to other colonies that they took over during their rise to military power. The Japanese government claims that with regard to Takeshima (Dokdo), the isles were Terra Nullis, and that any claim by the Korean government to soverienty over said isles before the Japanese claimed them were bogus at best. As such when the Isles were offficially encoporated within the territory of the Japanese State they became just that, sovereign territory of Japan.

Whether you agree with this or not is up to you. Korea choses not to agree to it. Korea is claiming that Japan is going to invade their EEV. But for all intents and purposes, to the Japanese, Koreans have been occupying their land for roughly 60 years now.

What the Japanese are doing is forcing the issue, and if they really do believe in what they state (ie that the isles are theirs) then they are doing the right thing.

Japan has played their move, its now up to Korea to see what they will do. If they want to act tough and all that then they will face an outcry from Japan and possibly the US. If they let it happen then it will look like they lack a spine. I would say that at the moment Korea is facing quite a pickle wouldn't you?

[Shaster]

1. Do you know that King Kojong registered Dokdo into Korean records in 1900 and that there were skirmishes and disputes as early as the late 1800's with Japan ceding sovergnty EVERY SINGLE TIME?

2. Did you know that Japan had murdered the Korean empress, had an army in Korea and claimed protectorate status of Korea when the 1905 Shimane Prefecture "claimed" Dokdo? So Japan is the diplomatic protectorate of Japan after effectively killing and subjugating Korean government and then claims that Dokdo is Japanese terra nullis? Does that sound legal, moral or make any sense to you?

3. Do you seriously, honestly believe that an island that Koreans have been staring at, fishing at and that Japan has known about for thousands of years can be "claimed" by a protectorate government in 1905??? Give me a break. At best that's an argument trying to legalize thievery.

Do be suprised. Some Japanese high school teachers still teach their students that Korea and Russia Maritime Province are part of Japan's terriority that lost by US invasion.

[BenReilly]

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