Seoul should push back Beijing’s farfetched claims
Only last year, the world noted and marveled at the economic and political potential of the three Northeast Asian countries in a bloc. That seems to be eons ago, as Korea, China and Japan now bicker with one another over historical and territorial issues.
China’s omnidirectional territorial push has just turned toward Korea, because Beijing now includes Ieodo, a submerged rock 150 km from Jeju Island, into its jurisdiction to reportedly be monitored by unmanned aviation drones.
Not only does Beijing’s move make little sense in terms of international maritime rules but also its unilateral nature does not suit diplomatic courtesy.
As is well known, Ieodo, or Socotra Rock, is neither an area of land nor even an island, and so it is not subject to territorial dispute but to jurisdictional contention. As it sits 4-5 meters underwater and is located far closer to Korea when a line is drawn down the center of their overlapping exclusive economic zones, China’s assertion is legally groundless.
Beijing officials seem to know this, too. So they cite flimsy reasons for the claim, such as their far longer coastline and far greater population on the nearest land to the rock as well as the structure of the continental shelf beneath it. Whatever they may say, however, the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, to which both countries have acceded, has only one criterion in this case: distance.
Korea has called for China to fix the demarcation line in the past 16 years only to run up against Beijing’s rejection of this proposal, aimed at gaining time to formulate arguments for gradually turning it into a territorial dispute. So what Korea should do is clear: bring China to the negotiation table as early as possible while letting the rest of the world understand more about Beijing’s illogical claims. As seen in the dispute over the Dokdo islets with Japan, a territorial or jurisdictional issue does not allow optimism or complacency.
Beijing’s move was all the more alarming, because it came on the day when China’s first-ever aircraft carrier, Liaoning, made its debut. From Seoul’s standpoint, our gigantic neighbor is distorting history on land by trying to snatch away Korea’s ancient kingdoms by claiming them as provincial states, and defying international rules at sea. All this means the nation should remain more vigilant than ever to survive regional security situations while sandwiched between one expansionary and one historically regressive neighbor. We wonder whether the presidential candidates have firm, concrete plans to cope with this crisis.
But this should not mean they should pick from either defense or welfare when formulating government budgets. Nor should the three major candidates’ stances on the controversial naval base construction in Jeju be the only criterion of their ability or aptitude in matters of national security. Either China or Japan is too much for Korea, especially when it is divided into two. This country needs the best mix of diplomatic and military readiness, while maintaining an exquisite balance among competing giants.
Korea should maintain sufficient self-defense capability in times of emergency while developing legitimate and justifiable logic that can win international support. What the nation needs is a cold-headed, resolute and farsighted leader who can do this most effectively.
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