NoCut News reports the good ship Haeyang 2000 left the port of Busan today on a scientific expedition to the waters off the disputed clearly Korean Dokdo rocks islets.
Seoul claims the maritime survey is purely scientific in nature, and is warning parties not to read it politically. It also points out that Korea has conducted the survey every year for the past two years.
The Korean government plans to share the results of the survey—and the maps of local currents produced from those results—with the international community.
Seoul, however, has put together a task force to deal with Japanese protests, which as expected have been fierce.
Tokyo is threatening to carry out a survey of its own in the waters off Dokdo should the Korean survey be carried out—you’ll recall that things got a bit heated last time Japan threatened to carry out a survey near Dokdo. If the Korean survey ship enter the waters, which Japan claims as its own EEZ, the Japanese plan to play warning broadcasts via Japan Coast Guard vessels and use diplomatic channels to demand the ship be withdrawn.
NoCut News also reports that the Japanese press is reacting quite sensitively to news of the Haeyang 2000’s departure from Busan.
UPDATE: Do I detect a gangbang? Yonhap is reporting that China has just carried out a similar maritime survey near the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, which are claimed by both Japan and China. According to the Japan Coast Guard, China gave no prior notification of the survey and ignored warnings by a Japanese patrol boat to leave. The coast guard said the Chinese vessel did not enter Japanese territorial waters, but did conduct activities with Japan’s claimed EEZ.
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“It also points out that Korea has conducted the survey every year for the past two years.”
Oooh, two whole consecutive years. almost as impressive as Joe Dimaggio’s hitting streak. I wonder if there is some old, grizzled survey veteran talking to one of the young whippersnappers about life in the days back yonder when the survey was just a young’un. Seriously, though, didn’t this Dokdo thing just heat up two years ago?
For a survey, just take out a big piece of paper and you can make a tracing of each island, and still be able to fold it up and put it in your back pocket (slight exaggeration, I know). Still, there is probably more research going on than Japan’s whale ‘research’ expeditions.
gangbang:) finally there is cooperation in east asia
Where’s Russia? They should join the gang bang and do the same thing up in the disputed northern islands.
russia, they occupy the disputed islands.
japanese did not dare to challenge russia because russian military is still…sort of strong.
but good point, that tells a lot about what all these disputes are about.
It seems to me there is a pattern here:
Japan vs. Russia
Japan vs. China
Japan vs. Korea
You got it right, Reader.
Japan vs. Russia
Japan vs. China
Japan vs. Korea
but Japan back up by USA so pattern is like this, in my very personal opinion.
Japan,US Vs. Russia
Japan,US Vs. China
Japan,US Vs. Korea
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