|
|
EAI Issue Briefing
Legal and Strategic Implications of ROK-PRC Maritime Delimitation Talks
Min Gyo Koo, Seoul National University and Young Kil Park, Korea Maritime Institute
|
| |
|
|
|
|
"Treading Water in the Seas of Contention" |
South Korean and Chinese leaders agreed to resume maritime delimitation negotiations in 2015 after the meetings were abruptly ended in 2009. Since then, two rounds of talks have been held. While two meetings seem to have yielded no substantial progress, Min Gyo Koo and Young Kil Park emphasize that there is a greater impetus toward a successful conclusion of the talks, given China’s strategic interest in peaceful settlement of maritime boundaries. However, the authors caution that the bilateral talks will not be a cure-all for all boundary issues between South Korea and China because the talks between the two countries will continue to be hindered by the territorialization of the EEZs while sovereign and jurisdictional rights are not strictly interpreted, rendering it difficult to find a balance between respecting maritime sovereignty and freedom of the seas.
 
|
|
