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Korean maritime border incidents, sometimes referred to as the Crab Wars, are a series of military clashes between North Korea and South Korea in the Yellow Sea (aka West Sea) off the west coast of the Korean peninsula. The clashes have occurred after the Korean Armistice Agreement, which did not resolve the nature of the maritime boundary in the West Sea. They have been aggravated by the presence of a rich fishing ground which is valued by both countries. ==History== In 1953 the Korean Armistice Agreement ending the Korean War and establishing the Military Demarcation Line on land made no provision for the boundary between North and South in the Western Sea. In this area a number of islands, belonging to South Korea, lay off the Ongjin Peninsula, now occupied by North Korea. After the United Nations Command failed to reach an agreement with North Korea, the Northern Limit Line was unilaterally set by the U.S.-led United Nations military forces on August 30, 1953. The line was originally drawn, when North Korea had no significant naval forces, as a practical operational control measure to prevent southern incursions into the north. However, its role has since transformed to prevent North Korean ships heading south. This line identified the northern ambit of the area patrolled by UN forces in the Yellow Sea. It is unclear when North Korea was informed of the existence of the NLL. Many sources suggest this was done promptly, but in a now declassified 1973 joint diplomatic cable, the U.S. Department of State and Department of Defense stated that "We are aware of no evidence that NLL has ever been officially presented to North Korea." In 1973, the status of the NLL was challenged by the North Korean negotiators at the 346th meeting of the Military Armistice Commission.〔Elferink, Alex G. Oude. (1994). 〕 At that time North Korea sent its patrol ships south of the NLL approximately 43 times in October and November 1973. In 1999, the words of negotiators were matched with more assertive actions as North Korean vessels began challenging the NLL, although there was no dispute that a few small islands close to the North Korean coastline remained within the jurisdiction of the United Nations Command since 1953.〔 In 1999, North Korea unilaterally asserted a maritime Military Demilitarization Line which was configured in waters to the south of the NLL. The dissimilar maritime boundary lines became the foundation of the overlapping territorial claims of the two Koreas.〔Ryoo, pp. 13-15 (at ( PDF-pp. 21-23 )).〕 Since 1999, North Korean fishing and naval vessels have regularly ventured across the NLL. In most cases the North Korean vessels return north of the NLL when challenged by the South Korean military; however sometimes there have been collisions between vessels and occasionally exchanges of fire have occurred. As the waters along the NLL are rich in Blue crab, the seaborne clashes have sometimes been dubbed the "Crab Wars".〔 Serious naval battles have taken place between North Korean and South Korean vessels in June 1999, June 2002 and November 2009. In March 2010 the ''Cheonan'', a South Korean naval vessel, was sunk by an underwater explosion near Baengnyeong Island. In November 2010 North Korean artillery fired on Yeonpyeong Island. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Korean maritime border incidents」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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