5 - South Korea and the safety of navigation: uncertainty derived from undefined fences

Abstract

The sea plays an important role for South Korea’s economy and security, and thus, making good order at sea is a vital priority for the country. Of particular economic concern are issues such as piracy and armed robbery against ships and depletion of fish stocks. South Korea has joined various bilateral, regional and international cooperation agreements to address these issues. Moreover, South Korea has territorial disputes with Japan over the Dodo/Takeshima Islet and with China over the Ieodo/Suyan Rock, which has so far led to little progress in maritime boundary delimitation negotiations between South Korea and these two countries. In terms of security, South Korea is technically still at war with North Korea since hostilities during the Korean War were only halted by an armistice agreement in 1953. In particular, the issue of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, as well as the unresolved dispute over sea boundaries between the two countries in the West Sea present serious challenges to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. The first part of this chapter discusses some of the maritime challenges facing South Korea, with a particular focus on the issues mentioned above, namely piracy and armed robbery against ships, depletion of fish stocks, the Proliferation Security Initiative, and the recent the Cheonan. The second part of the chapter provides a status of territorial disputes and delimitation issues between South Korea and its neighbours followed by a brief summary of South Korea’s maritime priorities going forward.