Liancourt Rocks Dispute - Post World War II Era

Post World War II Era

The recent dispute stems largely from conflicting interpretations of whether Japan's renunciation of sovereignty over its occupied territories after World War II included the Liancourt Rocks.

Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers Instruction #677 of January 29, 1946, listed the Liancourt Rocks, along with many other islands, as part of those territories over which Japanese administration was to be suspended. In the first to fifth drafts of the Treaty of San Francisco between Japan and the Allied powers, Liancourt Rocks was described as part of Korea.

The sixth and seventh drafts, made on Dec 29, 1949, and Aug 7, 1950, respectively, ruled that Liancourt Rocks belonged to Japan.

The U.K. draft and the attached map reflecting the view of Commonwealth nations submitted April 7, 1951, excluded Liancourt Rocks from Japanese territorial definition and placed Liancourt Rocks within Korean territory:

"Japanese sovereignty shall continue over all the islands and adjacent islets and rocks lying within an area bounded by a line ... bearing north-easterly between ... the islands of Oki-Retto to the south-east and Take Shima to the north-west".

Finally, the U.K. agreed to the US version of the treaty excluding the islands of Quelpart, Port Hamilton and Dagelet from Japan.

The final version left the territorial title of Liancourt Rocks undefined between Japan and signatory states.

Article 1

(b) The Allied Powers recognize the full sovereignty of the Japanese people over Japan and its territorial waters.

Article 2

(a) Japan recognizing the independence of Korea, renounces all right, title and claim to Korea, including the islands of Quelpart, Port Hamilton and Dagelet.

Korea claims that its territorial title to Liancourt Rocks was returned to Korea with the surrender of Japan which was enforced by Supreme Commander for Allied Powers' prohibitions suspending Japanese access to within 12 miles (19 km) from said island which needs to be explicitly revoked in order to effect a change . Such a change modifying the status of Liancourt Rocks has never occurred before "SCAP transferred its jurisdiction... to the United States Army Military Government in Korea on January 29, 1946." The U.S. Military Government in Korea, in turn, reverted all jurisdiction over Liancourt Rocks to the Government of South Korea when it launched on August 15, 1948. South Korea's President Rhee Syngman's announcement of the Peace Line enforced Korea's territorial title to Liancourt Rocks.

US recognition of this format of treaty was Japan recovered full sovereignty under article 1 except islands which were excluded from Japan by name.