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In an ominous sign for already strained bilateral relations, Japan has made it clear that it will get tough on Korea¡¯s plan to conduct a hydrographic survey near the Dokdo islets in July. In two-day talks between the two countries on the demarcation of their exclusive economic zones in the East Sea that ended Tuesday, Tokyo said it will consider sending police ships there to discourage the attempt.
The Japanese delegation conveyed the position unofficially to the Koreans, taking Japan¡¯s territorial claims to the Dokdo islets to a new level. Korea plans to survey the seafloor there in July.
The talks ended without agreement and will resume in September. Both sides dug in their heels positing Dokdo as the point of reference for demarcating their EEZ.
The Korean delegation put forward a revised proposal that would put the border halfway between Korea¡¯s Dokdo and Japan¡¯s Oki Island. In four previous rounds since 1996, Korea had proposed the midway point between Ulleung and Oki Islands.
Korea declined to discuss a Japanese proposal that would require prior notice if either side wants to carry out surveys near the Dokdo Islets.
Any progress seems unlikely unless Japan relinquishes its claim to Dokdo, which observers think unlikely. Without agreement on the EEZ, fishing near Dokdo has to be conducted according to a fisheries pact between Korea and Japan from 1999.
Meanwhile, there has been speculation why the first EEZ talks in six years were scheduled to coincide with Japan¡¯s first football World Cup match against Australia on Monday and Korea¡¯s first playoff with Togo on Tuesday.
Japan proposed the date, Foreign Ministry officials say. The ministry accepted it even though it knew the timetable would overlap with the World Cup matches.
¡°It seems that the Japanese Foreign Ministry was worried about resurgent anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea if differences between the two countries are emphasized rather than narrowed down in the negotiations,¡± a ministry official said. He speculated Japan may have hoped that the Togo match would distract the Korean public¡¯s attention.
Some believe the ministry had in fact agreed on the date with Japan behind the scenes before seeming to accept Tokyo¡¯s proposal. They think Seoul was equally grateful for the distraction since it knew the talks would be fruitless. The official said that was not the intention but admitted the pressure was reduced because people¡¯s minds were focused elsewhere.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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