• Strategy21
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• s.42
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• pp.154-195
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• 2017

This paper is to analyse conflict between the US and China over the South China Sea and Korea's responses. To this end the paper is composed of 6 chapters titled instruction; the current status of South China Sea sovereignty disputes; changes in US and Chinese maritime security strategies and the strategic values of the South China Sea; key issues and future prospects for US-China conflicts in the South China Sea; South Korea's security and diplomatic responses; and conclusion. The recent East Asian maritime security issue has evolved into a global issue of supremacy between the US and China, beyond conflicts over territorial disputes and demarcation among the countries in the region. China is pursuing offensive ocean policy to expand economic growth. The core of the maritime order that the United States intends to pursue is the freedom of navigation in the oceans and the maintenance of maritime access. China is making artificial islands in the South China Sea, claiming the sovereignty of these islands, building strategic bases in East Asia, and securing routes. The United States has developed several "Freedom of Navigation Operations" to neutralize the declaration of the territorial sea surrounding Chinese artificial islands. We can not be free from marine conflicts in the South China Sea and the East China Sea. Regarding the South China Sea dispute, it is expected that the strategic competition and conflict between the two countries will intensify due to China's failure to make concessions of core interests and adherence to the US compliance with international norms. In the midst of conflict over the South China Sea, we need a harmonious balance between our alliance security and economic diplomacy. We must continue our efforts to strengthen the ROK-US alliance but not to make China an enemy. Considering the significant impacts of the oceans on the survival and prosperity of the nation, we must continue to develop our interest in the oceans, appropriate investments and tactical strategies.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.125-151
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• 2018

We grouped the names attributed to the seas surrounding the Korean Peninsula in maps published in two major Korean ocean and fisheries science journals over the period from 1998 to 2017: the Journal of the Korean Society of Oceanography (The Sea) and the Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science (KFAS). The names attributed to these seas in maps of journal paper broadly were classified into three groupings: (1) East Sea and Yellow Sea; (2) East Sea, Yellow Sea, and South Sea; or (3) East Sea, West Sea and South Sea. The name 'East Sea' was dominantly used for the waters between Korea and Japan. In contrast, the water between Korea and China has been mostly labelled as 'Yellow Sea' but sometimes labelled as 'West Sea'. The waters between the south coast of Korea and Kyushu, Japan were labelled as either 'Korea Strait' or 'South Sea'. This analysis on sea names in the maps of 'The Sea' and 'KFAS' reveals that domestic researchers frequently mix geographical and international names when referring to the waters surrounding the Korean Peninsula. These inconsistencies provide the motivation for the development of a basic unifying guideline for naming the seas surrounding the Korean Peninsula. With respect to this, we recommend the use of separate names for the marginal seas between continental landmasses and/or islands versus for the coastal waters surrounding Korea. For the marginal seas, the internationally recognized names are recommended to be used: East Sea; Yellow Sea; Korea Strait; and East China Sea. While for coastal seas, including Korea's territorial sea, the following geographical nomenclature is suggested to differentiate them from the marginal sea names: Coastal Sea off the East Coast of Korea (or the East Korea Coastal Zone), Coastal Sea off the South Coast of Korea (or the South Coastal Zone of Korea), and Coastal Sea off the West Coast of Korea (or the West Korea Coastal Zone). Further, for small or specific study areas, the local region names, district names, the sea names and the undersea feature names can be used on the maps.

• Journal of the korean society of oceanography
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.212-221
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• 2004

Concentrations of suspended particulate matters (SPM) and their distribution patterns were monitored three times in the East China Sea during the winter season in 1998 and 1999. SPM concentrations showed significant temporal variations controlled by the atmospheric conditions and sea states. In coastal area, SPM values were about 10-20 mg/l in fair weather conditions, but exceeded 100mg/l during the storm periods. Turbid waters were distributed widespread in the continental shelf of the East China Sea and the coastal area of the Korean Peninsula, and these two areas were connected along a NE-SW direction. The distribution patterns of turbid waters were interpreted as representing the transport behavior of suspended matter. Although the primary source of inner shelf mud deposits of Korea seems to be the Korean Peninsula, contribution from the East China Sea to the coastal area of Korea increases especially during the winter season.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.219-228
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• 2012

Tintinnid species distribution has been monitored in the northern East China Sea (ECS) in the summer of 2006 through 2011. This is used to understand the water mass movements in the northern ECS. The warm oceanic tintinnid species had largely spread in 2007 in the area, indicating that there was greater warm water extension into the northern ECS. However the extension of neritic water within the Changjiang diluted water mass has strengthened in 2008 and 2010 because the neritic species distribution had relatively grown in both years. These annual results based on the biological indicators of tintinnid species are well matched with the salinity change in the area. The warm oceanic species, Dadayiella ganymedes had frequently occurred over the study years and had shown a significant relationship with the salinity change. This is valuable as a key stone species for monitoring the intrusion of the Kuroshio within the northern ECS. Information from tintinnid biological indicators can support physical oceanography data to confirm ambiguous water mass properties.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.14-22
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• 2000

The relationship between the distribution of demersal fishes and that of the water masses was examined by using the catches data and hydrographic data in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea on May 13-19, 1996 and May 10-17, 1997. During the study period, the dominant fish species were Cleisthenes pinetorum herzinsteini, Lophiomus setigerus and Pseudosciaena polyactis. These three low temperature water species accounted for $21-24\%$ of the total catches. The percentage of the low temperature water species was high in the Yellow Sea and the coastal area on the continental shelf of the East China Sea but was low in the vincinity of Kyushu during the study period. In the East China Sea, the isotherm of $15^{\circ}C$ at 50m, mid layer depth, was located more southeast in 1996 than in 1997. The bottom water temperature was about it lower in 1996 than in 1997. The direction of the detided current on the continental shelf of the East China Sea was southward in 1996 and northward in 1997. Yellow Sea Bottom Cold Water (YSBCW) strongly expanded to south in 1996 when the northward current was weak. But, Tsushima Warm Current (TSWC) strongly intruded into the continental shelf of the East China Sea in 1997. As YSBCW expanded strongly to south in 1996, the percentage of the low temperature water species relative to the total catches was high. But, TSWC strongly intruded and the percentage of low temperature water fishes was low in 1997.

• Journal of the korean society of oceanography
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.60-67
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• 2003

Typhoon Rusa passed over the East China Sea and crossed over the Korea Peninsula on August 31, 2002. The core of the typhoon passed directly over a data buoy mooring site at ($127^{\circ}45'E,\;34^{\circ}25'\;N$) and several ARGOS-tracked drifters capable of measuring salinity. Peak hourly mean wind speed reached 28 m/s at the mooring site and wind pattern in the East China Sea changed from southerly wind to northwesterly wind after the typhoon passage. Two or three days before the typhoon tile drifter displacement changed significantly and the region-wide circulation pattern changed from a northeastward current to a westward current one week after the typhoon had passed. The surface water in the East China Sea was cooled to about $4^{\circ}C$ under the typhoon core and a general cooling occurred in most of the East China Sea with the exception of the Chinese coast. The salinity as observed by the drifters in the East China Sea increased about 2 psu but the near-shore water along the Korean coast observed by the mooring was freshened about 3 psu. The freshening of near-shore water was caused by an intrusion of off-shore water rather than local freshening by typhoon precipitation.

• Strategy21
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• s.37
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• pp.144-176
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• 2015

In September 2013, President Park Geun-hye announced her controversial "Look North" policy, of which the most salient aspect is the "Eurasia Initiative". This comprises various proposals designed to overcome existing constraints by developing new markets and creating new economic partners in continental areas from which South Korea has been alienated since the end of World War II, and this dovetails nicely with China's One Belt, One Road Initiative. The concepts of the "Silk Road Rail Express (SRX)" and the "East Sea Rim Maritime Community (ESRMC)" have also been discussed. SRX is at present a purely symbolic railroad project intended to encourage individual, cultural, trade and diplomatic exchanges. ESRMC is a model for establishing an ad hoc community to promote regional economic cooperation around the East Sea. President Park's Eurasia Initiative will provide South Korean investment for the Northeast to complement Russian plans, like the "Northern Energy Road" being built by Gazprom, and Chinese plans, like the Chang-Ji-Tu Development Plan for the North Korean port of Rajin. China's trade, as well as its energy and food supplies, pass through the Strait of Malacca and the Indian Ocean, and are thus vulnerable to interdiction by India or the US. China is therefore trying to reduce its exposure geopolitical risk by establishing a network of corridors between the Belt and the Road to provide alternative paths. The "China-Pakistan Economic Corridor" and the "China-Myanmar Economic Corridor" provide such connections, and South Korea hopes that SRX and ESRMC can become part of a "China-South Korea Economic Corridor". This concept could do much to revitalize the underdeveloped northern provinces of China and Russia's Far East, not to mention North Korea. By linking up the Trans-Siberian Railway, the Trans-China Railway, the Trans-Mongolian Railway and the Trans-Korean Railway all these Asian countries will be connected to one another, and ultimately to Europe. An interim connection between China and South Korea using a rail-ferry has also been proposed.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.305-311
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• 1999

This study aims to decipher surface water mass interaction in summer in the South China Sea and East China Sea by radium isotope distribution pattern. Salinity and activity ratio of radium ($^{228}Ra/^{226}Ra$) showed gradual changes, which were adequate to apply simple two end-member mixing between Kuroshio surface water and Changjiang Dilute Water for the East China Sea and the former and Nearshore Diluted Watermass (NDW) for the South China Sea. Two tracer methods, salinity and Ra isotope ratio, were compared for East China Sea. Results showed remarkable consistency for waters near Kuroshio, however, discrepancy were noticeable after Tsushima Warm Current branching. Mixing with subsurface waters may cause the discrepancy. When mixed with subsurface waters, salts and radium isotope ratio are expected to be biased in opposite direction, i. e. prone to underestimate the fraction of less saline water in the case of salts and vice versa for Ra isotope ratio. Taking the mean values of two different results seems more realistic to estimate fraction of end-members.

• Maritime Security
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.273-310
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• 2020

This study aims at empirically analyzing the overall mechanism of the "Gray Zone Strategy", which has begun to be used as one of Chinese major maritime security strategies in maritime conflicts surrounding the South China Sea and East China Sea since early 2010, and comparing the resulting conflict patterns in those reg ions. To this end, I made the following two hypotheses about Chinese gray zone strategy. The hypotheses that I have argued in this study are the first, "The marine gray zone strategy used by China shows different structures of implementation in the South China Sea and the East China Sea, which are major conflict areas.", the second, "Therefore, the patterns of disputes in the South China Sea and the East China Sea also show a difference." In order to examine this, I will classify Chinese gray zone strategy mechanisms multi-dimensionally in large order, 1) conflict trends and frequency of strategy execution, 2) types and strengths of strategy, 3) actors of strategy execution, and 4) response methods of counterparts. So, I tried to collect data related to this based on quantitative modeling to test these. After that, about 10 years of data pertaining to this topic were processed, and a research model was designed with a new categorization and operational definition of gray zone strategies. Based on this, I was able to successfully test all the hypotheses by successfully comparing the comprehensive mechanisms of the gray zone strategy used by China and the conflict patterns between the South China Sea and the East China Sea. In the conclusion, the verified results were rementioned with emphasizing the need to overcome the security vulnerabilities in East Asia that could be caused by China's marine gray zone strategy. This study, which has never been attempted so far, is of great significance in that it clarified the intrinsic structure in which China's gray zone strategy was implemented using empirical case studies, and the correlation between this and maritime conflict patterns was investigated.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• v.2
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• pp.688-691
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• 2006

The current system of the East China Sea, a marginal sea in the northwest Pacific, has a seasonal variation. The Changjiang Diluted Water, Chinese coastal water in the East China Sea, has different seasonal paths. It flows southward along the Chinese coast within a narrow band in winter and does northeastward the Korea/Tsushima Strait in summer, which has been a subject to many researchers. In particular, low salinity in the South Sea of Korea in 1996 and 1998 was in discord with the Changjiang River discharge and the Changjiang Diluted Water seems to play an important role in occurrence of red tide in the South Sea of Korea in 1997 and on the contrary, disappearance in the next year. These facts suggested that the Changjiang Diluted Water does not flow along the same path in every summer. According to the analyses for path of the Changjiang Diluted Water using ocean color images by SeaWiFS and salinity observations by shipboard CTD in August for recent years, the Changjiang Diluted Water in summer flowed within the range of direction from southeastward to north-northeastward anticlockwise. However, the Changjiang Diluted Water flowed northeastward toward Jeju Island of Korea for the most part. It is necessary to examine the influence of major factors on path variability of the CDW in summer such as surface wind, the Changjiang River discharge and background current.