Liancourt Rocks dispute Japan. In 1954, Japan proposed a reference to the International Court of Justice, which South Korea rejected, believing that the Liancourt Rocks are irrefutably South Korean territories, and thus should not be dealt through diplomatic negotiations or judicial settlement between South Korea and Japan. There are conflicting interpretations about the historical state of sovereignty over the islets. Korean claims are partly based on references to a Korean island called "Usan-do" in various historical records, maps and encyclopedias such as the "Samguk Sagi", "Annals of the Joseon Dynasty", "Dongguk Yeoji Seungnam" (), and "Dongguk munheon bigo" (). According to the Korean
Liancourt Rocks dispute colony. He stated that Dokdo was a symbol of the recovery of Korean sovereignty. This address related to a Japanese plan, announced the day before, for a maritime survey around the Liancourt Rocks. Japan argued that as it would be undertaking the survey in its own claimed EEZ, there was no need to obtain South Korea's consent and that announcing its intentions was a simple courtesy. South Korea said it would arrest Japanese Coast Guard survey boats if they began to survey in South Korea's claimed zone. To back up its threat, it dispatched 20 gunboats to the area to