Recent Controversies and Agreements

Abstract

Here, pertinent controversies and agreements directly related to Socotra Rock since the late 1980s are discussed in detail. The chapter demonstrates that while China has repeatedly protested South Korean activities in the area, it was not until the mid-1990s, when the two neighbors ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and set their Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and continental shelf claims in stone, that the dispute slowly developed into the bilateral challenge of today. Alongside mutual reassurances, China issued protests against any unilateral activities in the overlapping area, stating they ‘can’t take any legal effect’. Its more assertive and physical responses to Seoul’s activities since 2003 are also described, consisting of contradictory declarations at various People’s Republic of China (PRC) governmental levels, and a shift away from purely diplomatic protests. In addition to displays of jurisdictional authority, the Chinese adopted stronger language in a context where they viewed the relative strength of their jurisdictional claims as weakening.