Special report: Islets dispute between ROK and Japan

    TOKYO, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Japan and South Korea reached a last-minute compromise last month to resolve a standoff regarding a set of disputed islets. A story published by the Kyodo News on Sunday revealed what happened behind the closely-averted clash between the two countries.

    According to the story, in late November 2005, officials of the Japan Coast Guard read a website version of a major South Korean newspaper, which said that the South Korean government planned to name the seabed features around the set of disputed islets, known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea.

    The Japan Coast Guard immediately notified the Foreign Ministry that Seoul intended to submit Korean names for the seabed features to an international oceanographic meeting in June. However, the foreign ministry thought it best not to "stimulate" Seoul and laid it aside.

    The Japan Coast Guard rang the bell once again in late January of 2006 when they obtained another report suggesting that Seoul plan to conduct three rounds of maritime survey to the area.

    After Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe heard the message, the Japanese Cabinet accepted the suggestion that Japan conduct its own maritime survey in March as an reaction to Seoul's move.

    Thus on April 4, Tokyo announced its intention to conduct maritime survey around the disputed area, which immediately provoked protests from the South Korean side. And on April 18, Japan dispatched a Coast Guard vessel to conduct surveys around the islets.

    According to Kyodo, Japan has offered a compromise plan to South Korean before sending the survey vessel, saying that if Seoul cancels its naming proposal, Japan would stop its survey.

    The offer was brought up on April 17 at a secret meeting between Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi and South Korean Ambassador to Japan Ra Jong-yil.

    After more than 16 hours of negotiation in Seoul, Japan and South Korea reached the agreement, which says that South Korea will not propose Korean names for the seafloor topography around the disputed islets at the international ocean mapping conference to be held in Germany in June, while Japan cancels the maritime survey for the time being.

    The two sides also agreed to resume by the end of May negotiations at a ministry bureau chief level to finalize the borders of their exclusive economic zones.

    Kyodo said that the methods of compromise were very clear before the talks, and the point was to save faces. South Korea had insisted that proposing Korean names was a national right and resisted agreeing to the Japanese demand until the end.

    During the negotiation, Japanese survey vessels have been waiting for orders in Sakai Port off Japan's Tottori prefecture.

    Both delegations were aware that their countries would be damaged if the talks broke down. For Japan, collapse would have meant starting the maritime survey, and South Korea would have had to try to forcefully stop Japan's survey vessels from completing their mission.

    Yu Myung-Hwan, South Korean Vice Foreign Minister walked out of the negotiation hall before any agreement was reached. Japan then submitted a short message and a vaguely-worded compromise was reached at the last minute. Enditem