China's Other Territorial Dispute

On the foreign policy front, China continues to take a very assertive policy towards its neighbors on territorial disputes in the South China Sea (Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Brunei) and the East China Sea (Japan). Moreover, China and India continue to take issue with each other over their contested claims to the Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh (administered by Beijing and New Delhi respectively). China has also failed to resolve a lingering dispute with the tiny mountain kingdom of Bhutan, and maintains another lesser known dispute with South Korea over the maritime rights over Socotra rock, a submerged rock in the Yellow Sea that both (as well as North Korea and Taiwan) claim falls under their exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Under international law, however, nations cannot claim submerged rocks as part of their territory.

Although China is often criticized for its intransigence on sovereignty disputes, it is far from the only stubborn party to them. For instance, in a little discussed row, China and North Korea have simmered over the jurisdiction surrounding Baekdu Mountain (referred to as Changbai Mountain in China).