East China Sea

South of the Sea of ​​Japan is the East China Sea, which is considered one of the tributaries to the Pacific Ocean. The East China Sea, also known as the East China Sea, is surrounded by the countries of China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. In fact, this sea has gone by other names such as during the 19th century when it was called the Sea of ​​Korea. The sea is very important in Chinese literature where it is referred to as the eastern sea. Temperatures in the area can vary sharply due to this sea being exposed to strong monsoon winds during certain parts of the year.

Geography and climate

The East China Sea joins the Sea of ​​Japan via the Korean Strait and is also connected to the north by the Yellow Sea. The countries around the sea are South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and China. The sea gets fresh water from the Yangtze River, which also goes by the name Chang Jiang and which is one of the largest rivers that empties into the East China Sea. Important islands are the Sankaku Islands as they are called by Japan but which by China are called the Diaoyu Islands and Tong Island. In the northern part of the sea there are reefs below the water surface and these are Socotra, Hupijiao and Yajiao.

Here the weather is very strongly affected by monsoon winds that occur due to different temperatures on land and in the water. During the summer, the land mass in Asia is much warmer than in the sea, and in winter the opposite. The summer’s hot air masses over Asia lead to areas with low pressure which in turn create monsoon winds, which during the summer blow mostly from the southeast. This gives warm and humid air from the western Pacific Ocean which gives a rainy summer with typhoons. In winter, it is just the opposite, and the wind is mostly from the north with cold and dry air from the continent.

The island conflict in the East China Sea

This sea often appears in debates and news due to the conflicts that exist between the different countries around it. In 2012, activists from Japan landed on an uninhabited archipelago in the sea as a protest against China and to show that the islands belong to Japan. The islands off the coast of China are under Japanese control, but both China and Taiwan claim them. For several decades, the island conflict has been going on and that is because there are gas deposits on these uninhabited islands. This island conflict is not the only one that exists in the area. China, Japan and South Korea also disagree on how the boundaries of economic zones in the water should be drawn, and this is a debate that occasionally heats up.