Japan has launched a diplomatic offensive to foil South Korea's attempt to rename the ocean separating the Asian neighbors from "Sea of Japan" to the "East Sea," saying the weight of history is on the Japanese side. Wading into sensitive political waters, the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) this month agreed to a request by South Korea to delete a page covering the "Sea of Japan" from draft guidelines used by publishers to draw nautical maps.
Outraged Japanese officials demanded the Monaco-based IHO, an inter-governmental body that promotes sea safety, scrap the planned change to its signature publication The Limits of Oceans and Seas, saying Japan could "never accept" such a revision.
The IHO, which wants to avoid inflaming historic rivalries that date back to Japan's harsh colonial rule of the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945, will make a final decision by the end of November after a vote by its 72 member countries.
But the IHO's first map revision since 1953 looks set to plunge Seoul and Tokyo into a diplomatic spat just as the afterglow begins to fade from a successful co-hosting of the World Cup soccer finals in June.
Japan says the "Sea of Japan" has been used in almost all maps produced and used throughout the world since the late 18th century. Lobbying by South Korea to change the name began in 1992 with a proposal to the UN. "It is wrong for South Korea to make that claim which we can never accept," a Japanese official said.
The official said Japan had recently conducted research on more than 200 old maps produced in Europe and found that the "Sea of Japan" had first appeared in a map drawn by an Italian missionary in the early 17th century.
It also found that while several other names such as "Sea of China," "Sea of the Orient" and "Sea of Korea" were also used until the 18th century, "Sea of Japan" has been accepted as a legitimate name since then, he said.
But South Korea argues that Japan's military occupation of the Korean peninsula set the stage for the "Sea of Japan" to be commonly used in modern times.
If Japan loses the battle, the "Sea of Japan" could be deleted from the revised edition of the IHO guidelines due out next year, another Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.
Japan and South Korea have also been locked in a feud over a group of small rocky islets, known as Takeshima in Japan and Tokdo in Korea. Seoul and Tokyo have remained on a collision course over ownership of the islands in the Sea of Japan.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS