South Korean team will carry 6-8 full-time staff
With diplomatic conflict between Korea and Japan intense over ownership of the Dokdo islets, the governments of both countries have decided to form special governmental bodies to be responsible for handling the issue. The South Korean Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries has informed the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs that it intends to create a "division-level" team under its policy section to be responsible for "maritime territorial" issues. Previously, the maritime affairs ministry had separate offices which dealt with disputed issues with Japan, including geographical naming such as "East Sea" versus "Sea of Japan" and "Korea Strait" versus "Tsushima Strait," the registering of names for underwater areas in the East Sea, the drawing of borders for South Korea's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and the management of Dokdo itself. According to the ministry's new plans, these ongoing "projects" will be placed within the same department. Currently, the selection of names for underwater topographical features and the work of having those names internationally recognized is done by the National Oceanographic Research Institute, but after Japan's move in April to have its own names registered with international bodies after a Japanese study of waters around Dokdo, the Korean government stepped up efforts to form an office dedicated to that concern.Korea has a mere two government functionaries responsible for EEZ negotiations with neighboring nations like China and Japan and monitoring the use and management of Dokdo. Between six to eight personnel would be given full-time responsibility for such maritime policy issues once the restructuring is complete, perhaps as early as August. The Japanese government, meanwhile, is planning a similar move. Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport is planning to inaugurate a special office to oversee similar areas of maritime policy, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. According to the report, Japan's civil servants responsible for issues such as Dokdo (or Takeshima, as it is known in Japan) and East China Sea natural gas development have been dispersed in various sections within the ministry, supposedly making Japan unable to respond rapidly to related developments. The new office would bring these officials together under one roof, the report said.
