China, South Korea, and the Socotra Rock Dispute

A Submerged Rock and Its Destabilizing Potential

Senan Fox

• Publisher: Palgrave Pivot
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN:
  9789811320767
• eBook ISBN:
  9789811320774
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Asian Politics
• Index: Politics & International Relations

This book exclusively addresses the political, historical and important contemporary strategic implications of the decades-long Socotra Rock dispute between China and South Korea. It is one of several maritime disputes involving China and a smaller state, and for which maritime law offers no apparent remedy. There is little doubt it will continue to be a problem in the future and should no longer be overlooked. The submerged rock, located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, straddles the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea. As China continues asserting its sovereignty and jurisdiction in maritime areas, this book will provide food for thought for scholars, think-tank researchers, and policymakers.

© The Author(s) 2019

Senan FoxChina, South Korea, and the Socotra Rock Disputehttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2077-4_1

Begin Abstract

1. An Insoluble Dispute?

Senan Fox¹

(1)

Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan

Senan Fox

Abstract

This introductory chapter begins by describing the purpose of the book and briefly introduces the various contexts in which the Socotra Rock dispute is situated. It provides a broad overview of the complex difficulties related to solving the dispute. This includes a succinct overview of the role of international maritime law in advance of a more in-depth discussion in a subsequent chapter, as well as why tensions increased after the early 2000s, and the significance of this dispute for the wider Sino-South Korean relationship for East Asia and the international community in general. Given that topography and geographical context figure so fundamentally in this issue, they are described before proceeding to other issues, such as the disputed dividing line, Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs), and continental shelf claims, and South Korea’s contentious construction of a research station in 2003.

Keywords

Socotra Rock disputeSino-South Korean relationshipEast AsiaExclusive Economic Zones (EEZs)

End Abstract

Introduction

Socotra Rock has been an object of tension between two East Asian states for many years, and no doubt will continue to be a problem in the future. It is one of several difficult maritime disputes involving China and a smaller state, and for which international maritime law offers no simple remedy. This book examines the decades-long Socotra Rock dispute between South Korea (Republic of Korea/ROK) and the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which essentially revolves around a submerged feature in the northwest of the East China Sea,¹ and located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula.

The ongoing disagreement has come to play a more prominent role in bilateral relations within the last 15 years, and this is mainly due to Seoul’s construction of a research station on the feature in 2003. This in turn provoked a more assertive vocal and physical defense of Beijing’s own claims in the area. Even though by 1996 many states had formally designated their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) with subsequent exploration , resource extraction , and jurisdictional rights inside the said zones, this had not been resolved regarding Socotra Rock. After 2003, China responded to South Korea’s construction on Socotra Rock by conducting surveillance activities in the area and then claiming jurisdiction over the feature in 2006 (Kim Young-jin, 18/09/2012). This escalated tensions and continues to the present.

Briefly, and in terms of international maritime law, this is a dispute over a submerged feature, thus not making it territorial or sovereignty-based in nature, but rather a question of which state has the right to exercise jurisdiction over it and the surrounding waters. Although the research station was built without consulting China, South Korea’s position is that no prior agreement was necessary because ‘Ieodo’ is situated within South Korea’s EEZ, and the zone is delimited using the internationally accepted median line approach to maritime demarcation. The rock, they argue, is also on South Korea’s continental shelf, and as such, they contend that the station’s construction was permissible (Roehrig, 2012: 74).

China’s own stance is quite different. The aim is to demarcate the area via an extended natural prolongation of the continental shelf approach, or at the very least, one that takes into consideration China’s size, population, coastline, and other factors. For this reason, Beijing claims that the feature lies within China’s EEZ and is also on China’s continental shelf in accordance with their view that the seabed area is Chinese and not South Korean. The shortcomings in China’s continental shelf claims and indeed the contradictions in South Korea’s continental shelf claims are discussed in detail in Chap. 2. The Chinese therefore believe that the research station should not have been built until the two sides agreed on a final demarcation of their respective EEZs and continental shelves.

The crux of the issue thus rests on questions regarding within which state’s EEZ and on which state’s continental shelf the feature rightfully rests according to international maritime law, specifically UNCLOS. Both states argue that existing maritime legislation favors their own respective positions and claims. It is clear, however, that while all states tend to select and choose articles and clauses which favor their own interests, in this case the PRC finds itself defending an outmoded stance and South Korea embracing a more widely accepted position for resolving the problem of overlapping EEZs. It must be pointed out that this embrace by Seoul has been selective. As presented herein, the issue is much more than an insignificant dispute over a worthless rock, but rather one which links into pressing questions regarding each state’s security, economy, and domestic politics, as well as approaches to globally accepted laws and regulations regarding such disagreements. It also has ramifications for maritime disputes elsewhere in the region, such as in other parts of the East China Sea and in the South China Sea, where claimant states have found themselves at dangerous odds over how to properly demarcate overlapping sea territory.

In order to fully discuss the Socotra Rock dilemma, this book comprises seven chapters. This chapter provides an introduction and background, including topography, geographical location, its place in myth and legend, and finally historical background. Chapter 2 covers the legal disagreements and entanglements at the center of the dispute, which is crucial to understanding the lack of progress. Chapter 3 examines the influence of wider bilateral and regional challenges. It particularly notes the increasingly fraught nature of ties between the two neighbors since the early 2000s, when the optimism of the 1990s was replaced by more realism and mixed feelings. Pertinent controversies and agreements directly related to Socotra Rock since the late 1980s are discussed in detail in Chap. 4. In the following chapter (Chap. 5), the significance of China’s controversial and somewhat overlooked Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) declaration in November 2013 is examined in general and then specific to the Socotra Rock dispute. The inter-relationship between the Socotra Rock issue and security as well as domestic political and economic factors is under scrutiny in Chap. 6, including how they have tested and continue to test bilateral ties today and in recent years. Finally, Chap. 7 concludes with the future outlook for the issue, as well as some suggestions for dispute management and preventing the Socotra Rock disagreement from damaging the wider and economically prosperous bilateral relationship. Next, however, given that topography and geographical context figure so fundamentally into this issue, it is vital to describe these before proceeding to further discussions on the key issues.

Topography and Geographical Context

Socotra Rock is the internationally recognized English language name for a permanently submerged rock, its highest point at low tide being 4.6 m (15 feet) below sea level. It is situated in the northwest of the East China Sea and just at the southern end of the Yellow Sea (Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Agency, 2010). Looking at a map, it is located at latitude 32° 07′ 22.63″ North and longitude 125° 10′ 56.81″ East and appears to rest roughly equidistant between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula and at the entrance to the Yellow Sea. Its nearest neighbor is the South Korean island of Marado, just south of Jejudo or Jeju Island, 80.45 nautical miles (nmi) to its northeast. The nearest PRC territory is Haijiao Island, 133.3 nmi to its southwest,² and Sheshan Dao, one of the PRC’s ‘straight baseline claim’ points, is 155 nmi away to the west.³ The Japanese island of Torishima is located 148.4 nmi to the east of the feature (Surhone et al., 2010: 1; Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Agency, 2010).

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Table of contents

• Cover
• Front Matter
• 1. An Insoluble Dispute?
• 2. The Limits of Maritime Law
• 3. Bilateral Challenges and Korean Anxieties
• 4. Recent Controversies and Agreements
• 5. Balancing Act: China’s Air Defense Declaration
• 6. Recent Economic and Security Factors
• 7. Present and Future Considerations
• Back Matter