Seoul to boost claim in E. China Sea

The government plans to submit official documents calling for a U.N. body to recognize the continental shelf in the East China Sea near the southernmost island of Marado as its territory.

According to a foreign ministry official, Seoul will claim in the official documents to be submitted to the U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) later this or early next month that the peninsula’s naturally extended continental shelf stretches to the Okinawa Trough in the East China Sea.

If this is done as scheduled, diplomatic friction with Japan will be unavoidable as the neighboring country also claims the area is part of its maritime territory.

China also claims the area as part of its territory but its conflict of interest with Korea is minimal, compared with that of Japan.

Because of this, Korea has worked closely with China to press Japan over the area.

Maritime territory disputes in the East China Sea among the three nations have been triggered by the overlapping of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

If the 200-nautical-mile rule is applied from the southernmost part of Korea, the southernmost part of Japan and the westernmost part China’s, the three nations’ EEZs overlap in the East China Sea.

According to a 1968 U.N. investigation, the maritime region is believed to have rich underwater resources such as natural gas and oil. Some analysts project that the area has 10 times more of oil than Saudi Arabia. Underwater resources have prompted the three concerned nations to strengthen their claims on the maritime region.

In July, Korea was accused by Japan of “undermining” its maritime territory as the former started to prepare documents from then.

During a news conference, Osamu Fujimura, chief Cabinet secretary of Japan, said his country wouldn’t sit back if Korea pushes its claim. His remarks indicated that Japan would oppose the Korea’s plan at the U.N. body.

The CLCS is in a position to recommend governments to follow the rules if all governments reach a consensus at the body. But it doesn’t review the documents submitted by a particular government in the face of opposition from others.

The CLCS is scheduled to meet in January for seven weeks. <The Korea Times/Kang Hyun-kyung>