Socotra Rock, also known as Ieodo () or Suyan Islet (), is a submerged rock below sea level (at low tide) located in the

Yellow Sea The Yellow Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. It is one of four seas named after common colour ter ...

International maritime law Admiralty law or maritime law is a body of law that governs nautical issues and private maritime disputes. Admiralty law consists of both domestic law on maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between priva ...

stipulates that a submerged rock outside of a country's territorial sea (generally 12 nautical miles) cannot be claimed as territory by any country. However, the rock is the subject of a maritime dispute between

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, which consider it to lie within their respective exclusive economic zones. The rock is located southwest of

Marado Marado or Mara Island is an island off the south coast of Jeju, in southernmost South Korea, having an area of . It is home to about 90 people, and has long been known for its population being composed of strong women and docile men. It's becom ...

(just off Jeju Island) in Korea.

Yushan Island Yushan Island () is in Xiangshan County in northeast Zhejiang province, Eastern China. It is the most southeastern island in Xiangshan, located 27 miles from Shipu Town (), near Ningbo City. It is situated in the north and south ocean current in ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Ji ...

, China, is away from the rock. The rock serves as the foundation for Korean Ieodo Ocean Research Station. A Korean helipad is also located there to allow the research station to be serviced.

Names

In Korean, the rock itself is known as Ieodo or Parangdo. Internationally it is known as Socotra Rock, and in Chinese, it is known as Suyan Islet (), which means the "rock" (岩/巖, yán) or "reef" (礁, jiāo) outside the coastal waters of

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with it ...

(苏/蘇, sū, the abbreviation).

History

Both "Parangdo" and "Ieodo" are names for the mythical island which the residents of Jeju Island believed housed the spirits of fishermen who perished at sea. The

n government has asserted a direct connection between these legends and the modern-day rock, claiming that the traditional saying that "One who sees Parangdo would never return" refers to the danger facing sailors when high waves allow the rock to break the surface. Koreans even name the studies about Ieodo as "Ieodology". Socotra Rock's Korean name was officially designated as "Ieodo" on 26 January 2001, by the Korea Institute of Geology.

Timeline

*1900: Socotra Rock is discovered by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

merchant vessel

SS Socotra SS ''Socotra'' was a British general purpose cargo ship built for P&O and launched in 1896. The vessel served in commercial cargo service to and from Far East and Australia. It was beached off Le Touquet Le Touquet-Paris-Plage (; pcd, Ec ...

. *1910: Socotra Rock is surveyed by the British vessel '' Waterwitch'', which measures the depth at less than . Vice Admiral Archibald Day, however, wrote in his book ''The Admiralty Hydrographic Service, 1795 - 1919'' that this survey was 1901 not 1910. *1938: The Japanese government surveys the rock. Plans are laid for a research station, but are cut short by the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. *1951: A joint team of the

Republic of Korea Navy The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN; ko, 대한민국 해군), also known as the ROK Navy or South Korean Navy, is the naval warfare service branch of the South Korean armed forces, responsible for naval and amphibious operations. The ROK Navy inc ...

and the Korea Mountain Climbing Association reaches the rock and lowers a bronze marker bearing the legend "Ieodo, Territory of the Republic of Korea" ("대한민국 영토 이어도") onto its surface. *1952:

promulgates the Syngman Rhee Line, which defined the country's territorial waters as including Socotra Rock. This was not recognised by the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

or other neighbouring countries. *1963: Yuejin shipwreck: The Chinese vessel ''Yuejin'' sinks on her maiden voyage en route from

Qingdao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most po ...

after being struck by an underwater object. The crew of the ship claimed to have been attacked by a torpedo, causing an international affair. It was later found that due to a navigational error by the crew, the "Yuejin" had actually struck Socotra Rock which was marked on navigational charts at the time. This was not recognized by the Koreas or other neighboring countries. *1963 5.1-6.3,

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

Riverway Bureau fleet finds the shipwreck southeast of Socotra Rock. *1970: South Korea's Underwater Resource Development Law was enacted, defining Socotra Rock to lie within the country's fourth mining field. This move was not recognised by the PRC. *1984: The rock's location is confirmed by a research team from

Cheju National University Jeju National University is one of ten Flagship Korean National Universities. founded in 1952 in Jeju City, the provincial capital of Jeju, South Korea. In 2008 Cheju National University and the Jeju National University of Education merged in ...

. *1987: A warning

beacon A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...

is placed on the rock by South Korea. *1992:

Chinese Navy The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN; ), also known as the People's Navy, Chinese Navy, or PLA Navy, is the maritime service branch of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAN traces its lineage to naval units fighting during the Chine ...

surveyed the Socotra Rock completely for the first time. *1995-2001: the Republic of Korea builds the Ieodo Ocean Research Station on Socotra Rock despite the objections from People's Republic of China. Several overflights of the area have since been made by the PRC surveillance aircraft. *2001: the Korea Institute of Geology officially designates the rock as "Ieodo" on 26 January 2001.

Dispute

According to the

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea Treaty, is an international agreement that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities. , 167 ...

, a submerged reef can not be claimed as territory by any country. However, China and South Korea dispute which is entitled to claim it as part of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). In September 2006, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman

Qin Gang Qin Gang (; born 19 March 1966) is a Chinese diplomat and politician who has been serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2022, making him China's second highest ranked diplomat after CCP Politburo member Wang Yi. He previously served as V ...

() stated that China regarded South Korea's "unilateral" activities in the region, referring to Korean scientific observatories on Socotra, to be "illegal", but that there was no "territorial dispute"; no islands were mentioned. In a 2013 clarification, China stated that it had no dispute with Korea over the issue.

References

External links