The Korean-Japanese Territorial Dispute Over Dokdo/Takeshima
Abstract
This thesis explores the Korean-Japanese territorial dispute over the sovereignty of Dokdo/Takeshima. The Japanese government has argued that Dokdo/Takeshima is inherently Japanese territory. But this thesis demonstrates the baselessness of this argument by exploring the two countries views of Dokdo/Takeshima's status before and after the Russo-Japanese War and focuses in particular on Japan's incorporation of Dokdo/Takeshima in 1905 during the Russo-Japanese War, an important episode in the contemporary dispute over the island s status. Before the Russo-Japanese War, both Korea and Japan recognized Dokdo/Takeshima as Korean territory. In the course of the war, Japan attempted to offset Russian threats to Japan s sea lanes by constructing observation posts along the Korean coastline. In doing so, Japanese officials incited a Japanese fisherman to petition to incorporate Dokdo/Takeshima into Japanese territory. In the end, Japan surreptitiously incorporated Dokdo/Takeshima into its territory and constructed an observation post on the island that was dismantled after the war. Nevertheless, Tokyo continued to recognize Dokdo/Takeshima as part of Korean territory even after its incorporation in 1905 and its formal annexation of Korea in 1910.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA475769
Entities
People
- Sang Hyung Na
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School