Socotra Rock Explained

Socotra Rock
Depth:	4.6 metres
Photo Size:	300px

Hangul:	이어도
Hanja:	離於島
Rr:	Ieodo
Mr:	Iŏdo
Othername1:	Parangdo
Hangul1:	파랑도
Hanja1:	波浪島
Rr1:	Parangdo
Mr1:	P'arangdo

Socotra Rock, also known as Ieodo, Parangdo, or Suyan Islet, is a submerged rock 4.6m (15.1feet) below sea level (at low tide) located in the Yellow Sea. International maritime law stipulates that a submerged rock outside of a country's territorial sea (generally 12 nautical miles) cannot be claimed as territory by any country.^[1] However, the rock is the subject of a maritime dispute between China and South Korea, which consider it to lie within their respective exclusive economic zones.

The rock is located 149km (93miles) southwest of Marado (just off Jeju Island) in Korea.^[2] Yushan Island of Zhejiang, China,^[3] is 287km (178miles) away from the rock. The rock serves as the foundation for Korean Ieodo Ocean Research Station.^[4] A Korean helipad is also located there to allow the research station to be serviced.

Names

In Korean, the rock itself is known as Ieodo or Parangdo. Internationally it is known as Socotra Rock, and in Chinese, it is known as Suyan Islet, which means the "rock" (岩/巖, yán) or "reef" (礁, jiāo) outside the coastal waters of Jiangsu (苏/蘇, sū, the abbreviation).^[5]

History

Both "Parangdo" and "Ieodo" are names for the mythical island which the residents of Jeju Island believed housed the spirits of fishermen who perished at sea. The South Korean government has asserted a direct connection between these legends and the modern-day rock, claiming that the traditional saying that "One who sees Parangdo would never return" refers to the danger facing sailors when high waves allow the rock to break the surface.^[6]

Koreans even name the studies about Ieodo as "Ieodology".^[7] Socotra Rock's Korean name was officially designated as "Ieodo" on 26 January 2001, by the Korea Institute of Geology.^[8]

Timeline

• 1900: Socotra Rock is discovered by the British merchant vessel SS Socotra.
• 1910: Socotra Rock is surveyed by the British vessel Waterwitch, which measures the depth at less than .^[6] Vice Admiral Archibald Day, however, wrote in his book The Admiralty Hydrographic Service, 1795 - 1919 that this survey was 1901 not 1910.^[9]
• 1938: The Japanese government surveys the rock. Plans are laid for a research station, but are cut short by the outbreak of World War II.^[6]
• 1951: A joint team of the Republic of Korea Navy and the Korea Mountain Climbing Association reaches the rock and lowers a bronze marker bearing the legend "Ieodo, Territory of the Republic of Korea" ("대한민국 영토 이어도") onto its surface.^[6]
• 1952: South Korea promulgates the Syngman Rhee Line, which defined the country's territorial waters as including Socotra Rock.^[10] This was not recognised by the People's Republic of China or other neighbouring countries.
• 1963: Yuejin shipwreck: The Chinese vessel Yuejin sinks on her maiden voyage en route from Qingdao to Nagoya after being struck by an underwater object. The crew of the ship claimed to have been attacked by a torpedo, causing an international affair. It was later found that due to a navigational error by the crew, the "Yuejin" had actually struck Socotra Rock which was marked on navigational charts at the time.^[11] This was not recognized by the Koreas or other neighboring countries.
• 1963 5.1-6.3,Shanghai Riverway Bureau fleet finds the shipwreck 1.5nmi southeast of Socotra Rock.^[12]
• 1970: South Korea's Underwater Resource Development Law was enacted, defining Socotra Rock to lie within the country's fourth mining field.^[10] This move was not recognised by the PRC.
• 1984: The rock's location is confirmed by a research team from Cheju National University.
• 1987: A warning beacon is placed on the rock by South Korea.^[6]
• 1992: Chinese Navy surveyed the Socotra Rock completely for the first time.^[13]
• 1995-2001: the Republic of Korea builds the Ieodo Ocean Research Station on Socotra Rock despite the objections from People's Republic of China. Several overflights of the area have since been made by the PRC surveillance aircraft.^[14]
• 2001: the Korea Institute of Geology officially designates the rock as "Ieodo" on 26 January 2001.^[15]

Dispute

According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a submerged reef can not be claimed as territory by any country.^[16] However, China and South Korea dispute which is entitled to claim it as part of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).^[17]

In September 2006, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang (Chinese: 秦刚) stated that China regarded South Korea's "unilateral" activities in the region, referring to Korean scientific observatories on Socotra, to be "illegal", but that there was no "territorial dispute"; no islands were mentioned.^[18] In a 2013 clarification, China stated that it had no dispute with Korea over the issue.^[19]

See also

• East China Sea EEZ disputes
• Foreign relations of the People's Republic of China
• Foreign relations of the Republic of Korea
• Liancourt Rocks
• Parangcho
• Parangdo (disambiguation)
• Senkaku Islands dispute

External links

• Google earth Socotra Rock placemark download
• Ieodo Ocean Research Station

Notes and References

1. Web site: Sightings of Chinese Ships near Ieodo Island Increasing. KBS WORLD. 2012-10-05. 2012-10-07. 29 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131029194256/http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_Po_detail.htm?No=93660&id=Po. dead.
2. News: " '이어도는 우리 땅' 임을 명확히 하겠다"‥ 영토 표지석 건립 추진 . "We will declare that 'Ieodo is Korean territory'" ─ It will promote the building of landmark stone of territory . Korean . 2005-03-22 . 2015-02-18.
3. News: zh:海洋资源被非法掠夺 中国海洋安全面临挑战 . 河南商报 . 2006-10-26 . http://news1.jrj.com.cn/news/2006-10-26/000001734045.html . 2006-10-26 . zh . 7 July 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110707020424/http://news1.jrj.com.cn/news/2006-10-26/000001734045.html . dead .
4. Book: Guo, Rongxing. Territorial disputes and resource management : a global handbook. 2006. Nova Science Pub Inc. New York. 1-600-21445-2. 226.
5. Web site: http://www.china.com.cn/guoqing/2012-03/13/content_24882839.htm . zh:中国国情·热词·苏岩礁 . 2012-03-13 . china.com.cn . 2015-11-15. zh.
6. Web site: 이어도 소개 (Ieodo sogae, Introduction to Ieodo. KORDI Ieodo Research Station website (This site might have view points in dispute or original research)). 2006-09-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060717141228/http://ieodo.kordi.re.kr/html/leodo_company2.asp . 2006-07-17. ko.
7. 张良福:《聚焦中国海疆·话说苏岩礁》, page 255,
8. Web site: 제주 남방의 이어도와 EEZ(배타적경제수역)포기 (Jeju nambang-ui ieodo-wa EEZ pogi, Ieodo south of Jeju and the surrender of the EEZ). Dokdo Center website. 2004-06-05. 2006-09-22. ko. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20070927141314/http://www.dokdocenter.org/new/island/island_erdo.htm?tb=openb_island_erdo&curDir=etcmenu%2Fisland&idx=12&page=1. 27 September 2007. dmy-all.
9. Book: Day, Vice-Admiral Archibald Day. The Admiralty Hydrographic Service, 1795 - 1919. 1967. HMSO. London. 200.
10. Web site: http://ieodo.kordi.re.kr/html/leodo_company2_3.asp. ko:국제법적인 고찰. Ieodo Research Station website. 2006-09-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060706165936/http://ieodo.kordi.re.kr/html/leodo_company2_3.asp . 2006-07-06. ko.
11. Web site: 1963年5月1日 我国第一艘远洋货轮"跃进号"沉没 ("Yuejin shipwreck" event). 人民网资料 (People's Daily Online). 2006-09-23. zh. 11 March 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070311232850/http://www.people.com.cn/GB/historic/0501/1406.html. dead.
12. Web site: 航道工程·第四节：市外工程 (Project list). 《上海港志》(Shanghai Harbor Records). 2006-09-23. zh.
13. 沈开江：海军海洋测绘部队东海苏岩礁测量填补空白，海洋科学,1993,(第1期),
14. News: China Chafes at Korean Observatory on Reef Island . . 2006-09-14 . 2006-09-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20061102190745/http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200609/200609140017.html . 2006-11-02.
15. 한-중 간 이어도 분쟁에 관한 국제법적인 고찰((International)legal consideration to dispute between Republic of Korea and People's Republic of China over Socotra Rock(Ieodo))Monthly Chosun, Chosun ilbo Retrieved on 2006-09-20
16. Web site: UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE LAW OF THE SEA, AGREEMENT RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PART XI OF THE CONVENTION, PART II TERRITORIAL SEA AND CONTIGUOUS ZONE, SECTION 2. LIMITS OF THE TERRITORIAL SEA, Article13 Low-tide elevations . United Nation . 2. Where a low-tide elevation is wholly situated at a distance exceeding the breadth of the territorial sea from the mainland or an island, it has no territorial sea of its own. .
17. News: China's Airspace Claim Inflames Ties to South Korea, Too . Choe . Sang-Hun . 27 November 2013 . The New York Times.
18. 中国反对韩国在苏岩礁海洋观测活动(China objects Korean Observatory on Reef Island)Phoenix TV Retrieved on 2006-09-19.
19. Web site: China says 'no dispute' with S. Korea over Ieodo in new air zone . 25 November 2013 . www.globalpost.com . . 28 November 2013 . 26 November 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131126040901/http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/yonhap-news-agency/131125/china-says-no-dispute-s-korea-over-ieodo-new-air-zone.