June 27, 2001	atimes.com

The Koreas Seoul, Tokyo caught in fishing row SEOUL - South Korea has warned Japan it will sever its fisheries cooperation with the country by banning Japanese fishing boats from operating in South Korea's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) unless Tokyo retracts its decision to ban Korean fishing boats from operating in waters off the Sanriku region of northeastern Japan. But, in a bid to keep the conflict from escalating further, government officials say Seoul will continue to seek an amicable settlement to the dispute by mobilizing various diplomatic channels in its negotiations with the Japanese government. The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries said Park Duk-bae, chief of the ministry's fishery resources bureau, issued the warning to Hiroshi Inomata, a minister at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, after summoning him to his ministry on Tuesday. Tokyo informed Seoul last week that it would ban South Korean fishing vessels from operating in its exclusive economic zone off northeastern Honshu if Korean boats fish in waters around the Russian-held islands off Hokkaido - the southernmost four Kuril Islands - that Japan claims as its exclusive economic zone. South Korea believes that the Japanese move, a violation of the fisheries accord between South Korea and Japan, could hurt bilateral relations for cooperation in the fisheries sector. The fisheries accord stipulates 26 South Korean saury fishing boats are allowed to catch 9,000 tons of the fish from August 20 to late November off the Sanriku region. In response, Inomata reiterated Tokyo's position that South Korea's fishing operations near the islands, which Tokyo claims were illegally seized by Russia at the end of World War II, poses serious legal and political problems. In a gesture of protest, the ministry is considering scrapping a two-day meeting in Tokyo to be held from Thursday to discuss plans for the annual congress of the 53rd International Whaling Commission (IWC), which will be held on Monday in London. The official also cast doubt over the holding of private fisheries talks between the two neighbors on July 3-4 as demanded by the Japanese side. Asked about countermeasures South Korea could take if Japan implements the ban, Park replied earlier in the day, "We have prepared plenty of measures in response to the ban, though they cannot be revealed at the moment." Despite Japan's objections, the ministry insists that South Korean fishing boats will operate in waters around the southern Kuril islands from mid-July following an agreement between South Korea and Russia signed last year. Moscow agreed last December to let 26 South Korean boats catch 15,000 tons of fish, worth about US$23 million, in the region this year. Korean fishermen catch about 1,400 tons of saury in the southern Kurils yearly, which accounts for 60 percent of the nation's total saury catch. South Korea and Russia are still negotiating a fee for fishing in the waters in the disputed islands, also known as Northern Territories, which were seized by Soviet troops at the close of World War II. South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Han Seung-soo lodged a formal protest on Monday against the Japanese move when he summoned Japanese Ambassador Terusuke Terada to his office. Han stressed that the operations of South Korean fishing boats around the southern Kuril islands is consistent with international laws and standards and have nothing to do with Japan and Russia's territorial dispute. He also demanded that Japan rescind its retaliatory move to bar South Korean boats from fishing off the Sanriku region of northeastern Japan. "The operation by our fishermen in southern Kuril islands has nothing to do with the territorial disputes between Japan and Russia," Han was quoted as saying. "Their operations conform to international laws and practices," he said. Japan's attempt to link the two cases was "inappropriate", Han said, calling on Tokyo to strictly separate the EEZ issue from the Kuril disputes. Under a 1998 agreement, South Korean and Japanese fishermen can fish in each other's EEZ unless their respective catches exceed a certain amount. In response, Terada asserted, "We cannot accept a situation where Japan's sovereign rights are violated." He also lodged an official protest against South Korea's plan to fish in the Northern Territories Han said South Korea will be willing to hold discussions if Japan offers counterproposals, such as an alternative fishing area. In 1992, South Korea and Japan settled a similar maritime dispute in such a way, according to officials. "We still have time to negotiate, because South Korean fishermen plan to operate in waters off Sanriku in mid-August,'' a government official said. But Terada retorted that Japan will not provide alternative areas or rescind the barring of South Korean fishing off the Sanriku region, unless Japan can confirm that South Korea is not fishing around the Kuril Islands. South Korea and Russia signed the fishing agreement last December. The Japanese government has objected to the accord, claiming that the agreement recognizes Russia's sovereign rights to the territory. The South Korean government has responded by saying that it can fish there as long as it has the approval of the country that has effective jurisdiction over the area. (Asia Times Online/Asia Pulse)

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