S. Korea Files Claim to Seabed Between China and Japan
By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
The government has submitted preliminary information to a U.N. commission on the outer limits of the nation's continental shelf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Tuesday.
The claim indicated the outer limit is 200 nautical miles between the East China Sea and the Okinawa Trough, information which is expected to be useful in future discussions with China and Japan when determining outer limits.
``We submitted the preliminary information to the U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) in order to reaffirm that South Korea's continental shelf naturally extends to the Okinawa Trough,'' a government official said on condition of anonymity.
South Korea proclaimed the 200 nautical-mile exclusive economic zone in accordance with a Sept. 10 Act in 1996.
However, the submitted outer limits will likely stir up controversy because they extend into territories over which China and Japan have sovereignty claims.
The official said the final lines would be drawn after talks between the three countries.
``We expect this preliminary information to help us gain bargaining power in future three-way talks,'' he added.
The government plans to submit a formal document on the outer limits of the continental shelf to the CLCS soon. But it remains uncertain whether the commission will review it before an understanding is reached with China and Japan.
This submission was made pursuant to paragraph 8 of Article 76 of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982.
The U.N. body is aimed at facilitating the implementation of the convention in respect of the establishment of the outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured.