Editing East China Sea (section)

===EEZ disputes===
{{main|East China Sea EEZ disputes}}
There are disputes between China (PRC), Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea over the extent of their respective [[exclusive economic zone]]s (EEZ).<ref>{{cite book | last=Manicom | first=J. | title=Bridging Troubled Waters: China, Japan, and Maritime Order in the East China Sea | publisher=Georgetown University Press | year=2014 | isbn=978-1-62616-035-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VjwkAwAAQBAJ | access-date=2022-07-27}}</ref>{{pageno|date=July 2022}}

The dispute between the PRC and Japan concerns the different application of the 1982 [[United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea]] (UNCLOS), which both nations have ratified.<ref>{{cite book|last=Koo|first=Min Gyo|title=Island Disputes and Maritime Regime Building in East Asia|url=https://archive.org/details/islanddisputesma00koom_125|url-access= limited| year= 2009| publisher= Springer |isbn= 9781441962232|pages=[https://archive.org/details/islanddisputesma00koom_125/page/n201 182]–183}}</ref> China and Japan both claim 200 nautical miles EEZ rights, but the East China Sea width is only 360 nautical miles.<ref name="GlobalSec">{{Cite web |url= http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/senkaku.htm |publisher=Globalsecurity.org |title= Senkaku/Diaoyutai Islands}}</ref> China proposed the application of UNCLOS, considering the natural prolongation of its continental shelf, advocating that the EEZ extends as far as the [[Okinawa Trough]].<ref name=wangyuanyuan12>{{cite web |last=Wang |first=Yuanyuan |title=China to submit outer limits of continental shelf in East China Sea to UN |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2012-09/16/c_131853714.htm |publisher=Xinhua |year=2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105191846/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2012-09/16/c_131853714.htm |archive-date=5 November 2012 }}</ref><ref name=guo6/> Its [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] has stated that "the natural prolongation of the continental shelf of China in the East China Sea extends to the Okinawa Trough and beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea of China is measured,"<ref name= wangyuanyuan12/> which is applicable to the relevant UNCLOS provisions that support China's right to the natural shelf.<ref name= wangyuanyuan12/><ref name= guo6>{{cite book| last= Guo |first= Rongxing |title= Territorial disputes and resource management: A global handbook| year= 2006 |publisher= Nova Science Pub Inc. |location= New York| isbn= 9781600214455|pages=104}}</ref> In 2012, China presented a submission under the UNCLOS concerning the outer limits of the continental shelf to the UN.<ref>{{cite web |last=Yu |first=Runze |title= China reports to UN outer limits of continental shelf in E. China Sea |url=http://english.sina.com/china/2012/1214/538008.html |publisher= SINA English |year=2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131114020901/http://english.sina.com/china/2012/1214/538008.html |archive-date=14 November 2013 }}</ref> However, Japan claims about 40,000 square kilometers part of this territory as its own EEZ because it is within 200 nautical miles (370&nbsp;km) from its coast, and thus proposed the Median line division of the EEZ.<ref name="GlobalSec" /><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/other/bluebook/2006/03.pdf |title=Diplomatic Bluebook 2006 |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan |page=43 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130318181526/http://www.mofa.go.jp//policy/other/bluebook/2006/03.pdf |archive-date=18 March 2013 }}</ref>

[[File:View of South China Sea.jpg|thumb|right|East China Sea from [[Yehliu|Yeliou]], Taiwan]] In 1995, the People's Republic of China (PRC) discovered an undersea [[natural gas]] field in the East China Sea, namely the [[Chunxiao gas field]],<ref>{{cite book| last= Kim| first=Sun Pyo|title=Maritime delimitation and interim arrangements in North East Asia |url= https://archive.org/details/maritimedelimita00kims|url-access=limited|year=2004|publisher=M. Nijhoff|location=The Hague |isbn= 9789004136694| pages=[https://archive.org/details/maritimedelimita00kims/page/n305 285]}}</ref> which lies within the Chinese [[EEZ]] while Japan believes it is connected to other possible reserves beyond the median line.<ref>{{cite book | last=Bush | first=Richard C. | title= The perils of proximity: China-Japan security relations | url=https://archive.org/details/perilsproximityc00bush | url-access=limited | year=2010 | publisher=Brookings Institution Press | location=Washington, D.C.| isbn=9780815704744 | page=[https://archive.org/details/perilsproximityc00bush/page/n87 76]}}</ref> Japan has objected to PRC development of natural gas resources in the East China Sea near the area where the two countries [[Exclusive Economic Zone]] (EEZ) claims overlap. The specific development in dispute is the PRC's drilling in the [[Chunxiao gas field]], which is located in undisputed areas on China's side, three or four miles (6&nbsp;km) west of the median line proposed by Japan. Japan maintains that although the Chunxiao gas field rigs are on the PRC side of a median line that Tokyo regards as the two sides' sea boundary, they may tap into a field that stretches underground into the disputed area.<ref name="fackl08">{{cite news | last=Fackler | first=Martin | title=China and Japan in Deal Over Contested Gas Fields| url= https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/19/world/asia/19sea.html |newspaper=The New York Times|date=19 June 2008}}</ref> Japan therefore seeks a share in the natural gas resources. The gas fields in the [[Xihu Sag]] area in the East China Sea ([[Canxue]], [[Baoyunting]], [[Chunxiao]], [[Duanqiao gas field|Duanqiao]], [[Wuyunting]], and [[Tianwaitian]]) are estimated to hold proven reserves of 364 BCF of [[natural gas]].<ref>{{cite web | title=EIA Country Analysis Briefs, East China Sea | website= eia.gov | url= http://www.eia.gov/emeu/cabs/East_China_Sea/Full.html | publisher=Energy Information Administration | date=March 2008 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120920022613/http://www.eia.gov/emeu/cabs/East_China_Sea/Full.html | archive-date=20 September 2012 }}</ref> Commercial operations began 2006. In June 2008, both sides agreed to jointly develop the Chunxiao gas fields,<ref name= "fackl08" /> but they have never been able to agree on how to execute the plan.<ref>{{cite web| first1= Marianne |last1= Lavelle |first2= Jeff |last2= Smith |title=Why Are China and Japan Sparring Over Eight Tiny, Uninhabited Islands? |url= http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2012/10/121026-east-china-sea-dispute/ |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121028073947/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2012/10/121026-east-china-sea-dispute/ |url-status= dead |archive-date= 28 October 2012 | website= nationalgeographic.com |publisher= [[National Geographic Society]] | date=26 October 2012}}</ref>

Rounds of disputes about island ownership in the East China Sea have triggered both official and civilian protests between China and Japan.<ref name="protest">{{Cite web |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/chinese-japanese-stage-protests-over-east-china-sea-islands-105099884/128195.html |publisher= Voice of America |website= Voice of America| title=Chinese, Japanese Stage Protests Over East China Sea Islands |access-date=21 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415190551/http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Chinese-Japanese-Stage-Protests-Over-East-China-Sea-Islands-105099884.html |archive-date=15 April 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
The dispute between PRC and South Korea concerns [[Socotra Rock]], a submerged [[reef]] on which South Korea has constructed the [[Ieodo Ocean Research Station]]. While neither country claims the rock as territory, the PRC has objected to Korean activities there as a breach of its EEZ rights.