Ancient Japan Recognized Dokdo as Korean Territory
This is the seventh in a series of articles highlighting Dokdo’s history, environment, old maps and folklore, possibility of the international court decision on the East Sea islets and law of the sea. The series is the joint project of The Korea Times and the Korea Dokdo Research Center, which is affiliated with the Korea Maritime Institute. ― ED.
By Michael Ha
Staff Reporter
It is established ``beyond any doubt" that Dokdo has continued to be an integral part of Korean territory, according to the Korea Dokdo Research Center at the Korea Maritime Institute, a research group that aims to shed light on historical and legal facts regarding these East Sea islets.
``Therefore, the questions over its legal status are not subject to international adjudication, arbitration or any other means of dispute settlement," the center stated.
The center also noted that between the 17th and 19th centuries, even the Japanese government officially recognized Korean sovereignty over Dokdo.
San Francisco Peace Treaty
After the Second World War, Dokdo's legal status was not explicitly stated in the Treaty of Peace with Japan, also known as the San Francisco Peace Treaty.
The center noted that the omission was due to the new geopolitical configuration brought on by the Cold War, then taking its early shape. This factor was coupled with the desire on the part of the U.S.-led Allies not to further complicate the peace settlement process by taking position in a territorial dispute.
The San Francisco Peace Treaty clearly stipulated Dokdo as Korean territory in its 1st to 5th draft. However, any mention of the islets was omitted in the final version due to a combination of factors including successful lobbying by Japan and Korea's lack of diplomatic clout as a young country about to attain independence.
Worse yet, Korea was not even included among the signatories of the San Francisco Peace Treaty.
Dokdo Returns to Korea After World War II
However, once the Republic of Korea was founded in 1948 as an independent state, it inherited jurisdiction over Dokdo from the U.S. Army Military Government in Korea and placed it under the North Gyeongsang Province.
Noteworthy is the fact that this passing of jurisdiction was protested by neither Allied Powers nor Japan, indicating that both sides tacitly recognized that Korea was the rightful holder of territorial sovereignty over the islets under international law.
The assertion that Dokdo is Japanese territory simply because it was not listed among territories to be renounced by Japan under the San Francisco Peace Treaty is merely a self-serving interpretation on its part, the research center noted.
A more reasonable and correct assessment of the final form the postwar peace agreement took, concerning Dokdo, would be rather that the United States, despite Japan's persistent insistence, rejected at the end its claim of sovereignty over the islets.
Ancient Japan Knew Dokdo Belongs to Korea
The official and prevalent perception in Japan of the Edo era was that neither Ulleungdo nor Dokdo belonged to it, according to the center.
In a 1693 incident, known as the "Takeshima Incident," fishermen of Korea's Joseon Kingdom were captured and kidnapped by Japanese fishermen. Japanese people in that period called today's Ulleungdo as Takeshima and Dokdo as Matsushima.
Following this incident, in 1695, the Japanese Shogunate asked Tottori Prefecture seven questions including: ``Since when did Takeshima (i.e. Ulleungdo) belong to Inaba and Hoki?" And, ``Is there any island other than Takeshima belong to Inaba and Hoki?"
In its reply to the Shogunate's inquiry, Tottori Prefecture made it clear that neither island belonged to them, stating "Neither Takeshima (Ulleungdo) nor Matsushima (Dokdo) belong to Inaba or Hoki," and specifying also that there was no other island that belonged to these two provinces.
Japan's Shogunate Recognized Dokdo as Korean
As a result, in 1696, the Japanese Shogunate recognized that Ulleungdo belonged to Joseon, prohibiting Japanese fishermen from fishing in the waters surrounding the islets.
Since this ban, Japanese fishing boats no longer entered waters surrounding Ulleungdo or Dokdo. As a matter of fact, Japanese fishermen have never been sighted to the late 19th century, in the waters of Dokdo, except in connection with fishing trips to Ulleungdo.
Therefore, Japanese fishermen who fished in the coastal waters of Ulleungdo or Dokdo during the Edo period did so on their own private initiative, and this practice was unrelated to the territorial status of Dokdo.
Meiji Government's Stance on Dokdo
The Meiji government of Japan also recognized on several occasions that Dokdo was not a part of Japanese territory, the center noted.
One year after the Meiji Restoration, the newly instated government of Japan dispatched a group of its foreign ministry officials to Joseon to inquire into the political circumstances of the country. Three of these officials, including Sada Hakubo, later submitted a report titled ``Chosenkoku Kosaishimatsu Naitansho" in 1870, which provided an explanation about how Takeshima (Ulleungdo) and Matsushima (Dokdo) came to belong to Joseon.
In a chapter titled ``The Background of Takeshima and Matsushima: How the Two Islands Became Joseon Territory," the authors state: ``Matsushima (Dokdo) is an island near Takeshima (Ulleungdo)." This clearly shows that the Meiji government fully recognized that Dokdo, like Ulleungdo, was under the sovereignty of Joseon.
Inquiries Into Dokdo Sovereignty
In 1876, another investigation was launched, in conjunction with the Meiji government's geographical publication project, to decide whether Ulleungdo and Dokdo should be included as islands belonging to Shimane Prefecture. The investigation ended with the conclusion that neither island belonged to Japan.
A year later, in 1877, Dajokan, the Imperial Japanese Council of State, gave its final confirmation of the fact that ``Takeshima and an island (nearby)," in other words, Ulleungdo and Dokdo, were not related with Japan and issued a formal statement confirming this fact.
All international instruments ending the Japanese colonial rule of Korea such as the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Declaration and the San Francisco Peace Treaty acknowledged and approved the independence of Korea.
Japan's Groundless Claim
Japan's groundless claim over Dokdo is tantamount to a refusal to recognize the end of its colonial rule over Korea and a challenge to the sovereignty and independence of Korea. As an attempt to justify the past aggression of Korea by imperialist Japan, it is a deplorable and reactionary claim, the center stated.
The center added that Japan's claim of sovereignty over Dokdo is too absurd and too lacking in any reasonable ground to render it subject to any means of international dispute settlement.
Japan's argument that the issue regarding Dokdo should be referred to the International Court of Justice lacks both logical and rational ground in the light of the fact that Korea has maintained its inherent and exclusive territorial sovereignty over Dokdo.
The center noted that there exists no legal doubt as to Korean sovereignty over Dokdo, and accordingly there is no reason why the islets should be brought to an international tribunal, adjudicatory, arbitral or otherwise.