Liancourt Rocks Dispute - Recent Conflict

Recent Conflict

On April 25, 2006, President Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea announced a special dialog about Korea–Japan relation, that demanded Japanese government's actions following the apology of Japan about previous colonization of Korea. In the dialog, he said 'Dokdo is Korean territory, not an ordinary Korean territory, but Korean territory which had been carved with bitter grief. Dokdo is the first Korean territory which was deprived of when Japan colonized Korea. Japan occupied the land for the battles during Russo-Japanese war'. And he expressed that Japanese claim for Dokdo means a pursuit of the right for the occupied land by imperial invasion, hence the claim for a previous colony. He stated that Dokdo is a symbol of the recovery of Korean sovereignty. This address is related to Japanese plan, announced the day before, for maritime survey around Liancourt Rocks. Japan argues that as it would be undertaking the survey in its own claimed EEZ, it feels there was no need to obtain South Korea's consent and that announcing its intentions was a simple courtesy. South Korea said it would arrest Japanese Coast Guard survey boats if they began to survey in South Korea's claimed zone. To back up its threat, it dispatched 20 gunboats to the area to conduct high seas seizure drills. In July 2006, the South Korean government sent a research ship to collect data on currents around the Liancourt Rocks and stated "research is just an act based on sovereignty". On July 5, the research vessel, followed by a South Korean escort ship, entered the area.

On July 14, 2008, South Korea temporarily recalled its ambassador to Japan, after the Japanese government decided to mention the dispute over the islands in the "Commentary to the Curriculum Guideline" (学習指導要領解説, Gakushu sido yōryō kaisetsu?) for social study classes in junior high school. The Korean Coast Guard strengthened its early warning system as a preventative measure against any possible attempt by Japanese right-wing groups to land on the islets. On July 18, there was a protest in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul. The South Korean government is considering sending marines to replace a police contingent on Dokdo to thwart Japan's territorial claim to the islets.

Prime Minister Han Seung-soo expressed strong dissatisfaction for Japan's Education Ministry. The South Korean government is also considering building infrastructure to provide tap water, establishing an oceanic scientific base, dispatching public officials to the area, allowing free public access to the islets, and turning Dokdo into a resort area with hotels. South Korea rejected a Japanese offer for a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the annual ASEAN regional security summit in Singapore. North Korea also rejected Japan's sovereignty over the islands and expressed support for South Korean control of the islands. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary expressed concern that military tensions would escalate.

In July 2008, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN) changed the name of the country to which Liancourt Rocks belong from South Korea to Undesignated Sovereignty and also changed the name from "Dokdo" to "Liancourt Rocks". Responding to this change, Gonzalo R. Gallegos, Acting Deputy Spokesman of the U.S. State Department, said on July 28, 2008 that the United States has long maintained a policy stance of neutrality on the islets, and that the latest change does not represent any policy change within the U.S. government.

The same change that classified Liancourt Rocks as Undesignated Sovereignty in the BGN database was reversed on July 30 under the order of U.S. President George W. Bush, once again marking the status of Liancourt Rocks under South Korean control.