I am not armed with the full technical knowledge or data to take sides in the debate over the Dokdo Islets regarding claims by Japan. Justice for Korea's claim can be done by historians. It is interesting to see a couple of Japanese scholars in favor of Korea.
In my humble opinion, international awareness of the dispute is nearly zero. Japan's historical distortions and invalid claims over Dokdo are the subject of a dispute that can be resolved without the participation of any third party. It is pertinent to note that North Korea, which is antagonistic to South Korea on all fronts, sides with the South over this issue.
William Roger Jones from Jeju Island told me that Koreans sometimes confuse emotional issues including Dokdo and the naming of seas. Some in my classes have stated that they will not give another penny to Japan due to the ill-timed published Korean newspaper articles concerning the above.”
Sadly, Tokyo's renewed territorial claim has flared and soured the favorable mood for bilateral ties that resulted in Korea's sympathy and aid to quake-stricken Japan.
The islets lie in rich fishing grounds also contain large gas deposits, leading to the Japan that once ruled Korea to stake a claim more than once. This is both bad economics and politics, lacking in diplomacy. Let Japan learn lessons not only from its recent tragedies; but love, not hate, a neighbor who has been otherwise considerate, sharing and caring, in resolving the issue.
Let Japan not do unto others what it does not want others to do unto Japan.
Historical distortions, including the Dokdo dispute, have contributed significantly to the shaky relationship between Japan and South Korea.
I understand that the Dokdo islets in Korea are normally known as the Liancourt Rocks. The Franco-English name of the islets derives from Le Liancourt, the name of a French whaling ship which came close to being wrecked on the rocks in 1849.
In Japanese, they are called Takeshima, literally "Bamboo Island.'' Records show that the Liancourt Rocks consist of two main islets and 35 smaller rocks. The total surface area of the islets is 0.18 square kilometers (46.32 acres), with the highest elevation of 169 meters (554 feet) found at an unnamed location on the west islet.
The sovereignty over the islets is unnecessarily disputed as they are currently administered by South Korea, which has its Coast Guard stationed there. Its claims extend back at least several hundred years. Two Korean citizens ― an octopus fisherman and his wife ― are permanent residents on the islets.
A small Korean police detachment, administrative personnel, and lighthouse staff are also stationed in non-permanent supporting positions. Japan’s classification of them as part of Okinoshima in the Oki District of Shimane Prefecture is not well received by this writer.
The debate on the issue, a byproduct of Japan's 35-year colonial rule of Korea, has continuously flared between the two nations. Let the world community understand, analyze, interpret and support Korean claims to Dokdo.
M.M. Goel
Faculty of social science
Kurukshetra University
Kurukshetra in India
mmgoel2001@yahoo.co.in
Faculty of social science
Kurukshetra University
Kurukshetra in India
mmgoel2001@yahoo.co.in
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