Niya Deng and Jiyong Zheng, Legal Analyses of the Korea–Japan JDA Implementation Dilemma: Stalemate and a Way Out,Pacific Focus, Vol. XXXVII, No. 3 (December 2022), 506–531. doi: 10.1111/pafo.12215

Abstract: The 1974 joint development agreement between Korea and Japanestablished an innovative cooperation regime in the East China Sea.According to the agreement, Korea is obligated to conduct jointlywith Japan in the defined zone, but Japan holds a negative stance onthe potential reservation, leading to a deadlock on commercial activi-ties. The reasons for the stalemate are, on the one hand, due to alack of motivation because no commercial products pay back, and onthe other because the mechanism of the agreement does not envisagea straightforward solution to thepredicament. Compared with the1970s, the incompatible legal positions on the maritime boundariesand vexed political geographical relations between the coastal Statesmake the Joint Development Zone more controversial. This studyidentifies  alternative  approaches  based  on  thorough  analyses  ofpolitical and legal factors such as joint development regime, evolvingrules  of  international  law,  bilateral  cooperation,  and  regionalrelations.

Key words: Stalemate of Korea–Japan JDA, East China Sea, Joint devel-opment mechanism, Unilateral activities, UNCLOS, International judicialpractices