IHO Forms Unofficial Consultation Group to Discuss Changing Name of “Sea of Japan”
Here is an update from the frontlines of the East Sea versus Sea of Japan conflict:
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), agreed Friday to form an unofficial consultation group to discuss South Korea’s proposal to use “East Sea” alongside “Sea of Japan” when referring to the waters between the two countries, Seoul officials said.
The decision was made on the last day of the global hydrography standard-setter’s five-day assembly in Monaco. It calls for the formation of the consultation group of concerned countries, namely South Korea, Japan and others, to carry out a three-year discussion on the revision of the IHO’s “Limits of Oceans and Seas”, also known as S-23, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The group is required to report the results to an IHO assembly in 2020.
The sea chart, used as the standard for world map production, currently uses the Japanese name for the sea between the two countries.
South Korea began diplomatic efforts to revise it in the early 2000s. The IHO had dropped the initial revision discussion in 2012 amid broiling tension between Seoul and Tokyo. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but I continue to maintain it should just be called the “Nameless Sea”.
I think the “Sea of Pettiness” is a better name.
SEOUL, April 30 (Reuters) – China came out today in support of Korea’s strongly-worded demand to rename the Sea of Japan to the East Sea.
The United States responded that the sea in question seemed to be located somewhere off the coast of California and proposed “anything with west in it”.
The EU announced they would form a Directorate of North Asian Sea Naming which would consider the issue using globes and strings and would make make a proclamation in six months after the 14 million euro study was complete.
Australia issues a written press release, “Aye, mate, after lookin’ a map, we reckon the North Sea is fine by us but it seems some bloke already took that.”
The Norwegians rebuked the Australians by correcting their mistake in a harshly worded speech by the foreign minister, “The name of the sea to the south of Norway is not the ‘North Sea’ but is, in fact, Nordsjøen. We will be filing an appeal to international mapping organizations to recognize that cartographic fact.” When asked for an English translation of Nordsjøen, the foreign minister mumbled something about jøen meaning sea and nords “probably means something close to south or something like that”.
I think we should call it George.