[KS] Tokto

[David Armiak]

Dear Frank Hoffmann,

I am not an economist, but I believe the islets are of economic importance.  First, the sea around Dokdo is a major fishing area for Korean fishermen.  It provides seafood to much of the nation and determines overall prices in the seafood market.  Second, it is commonly believed that there are vast deposits of petroleum and natural gas underneath the seabed around the islets and in other areas of the East Sea.  Since the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea grants exclusive economic rights 200 nautical miles from one's coastline, maintaing sovereignty over Dokdo (and other rocks poking out of the sea for that matter) is of great importance.

Best,

David Armiak
PhD Candidate
Department of Anthropology
University of Wisconsin-Madison