Товч агуулга:‘Insight into Dokdo,’ book analyzing the conflicting positions of Korea and Japan regarding Dokdo, a small island in the East Sea (Sea of Japan), from historical, political and international law perspectives. The authors all share the view that Korea's claims are much stronger than Japan's. They note that Korea's position will be further strengthened as the amount of historical and legal evidence in Korea's favor will only increase over time. ‘Insight into Dokdo’ is also motivated to push the Korean government toward a more proactive response to Japanese challenge. The official Seoul policy has been until recently what is called “keep-quiet diplomacy.” Seoul refrained from actively promoting Korea's sovereignty over Dokdo under the belief that active campaigns would only cause the issue to develop into an overt international conflict. The authors stress that Seoul should begin a determined campaign to rally support from the international community. Some of the authors are particularly critical of Seoul's stance on the fisheries accord between Korea and Japan. They note that Japan became more aggressive over the islets following the conclusion of the fisheries agreement in 1998. These scholars call for an outright abolition of this accord since it is fundamentally flawed. They point to the arrangement which puts Dokdo in an “intermediate fisheries zone,” giving room for Japan to challenge Korea's exclusive right to Dokdo. We believe this argument deserves a more serious examination. ‘Insight into Dokdo’ is also intended to make up for the dearth of foreign-language books which cover the complicated aspects of the Dokdo issue more extensively than available pamphlets.
