EAST CHINA SEA

The East China, South China, and Yellow seas. Chinese (Wade-Giles) Tung Hai, or (Pinyin) Dong Hai, arm of the Pacific Ocean bordering the East Asian mainland and extending northeastward from the South China Sea, to which it is connected by the shallow Taiwan Strait between Taiwan and mainland China. The East China Sea and the South China Sea together form the China Sea. The East China Sea extends to the east to the chain of the Ryukyu Islands; north to Kyushu, which is the southernmost of Japan's main islands; northwest to Cheju Island off South Korea; and hence west to China. This northern boundary separates the sea from the Yellow Sea. Chinese (Wade-Giles) Tung Hai, or (Pinyin) Dong Hai, arm of the Pacific Ocean and part of the China Sea (q.v.). It covers about 290,000 square miles (752,000 square km) and is bounded by the islands of Cheju (north), Kyushu (northeast), the Ryukyu chain (east), and Taiwan (south) and by China (west). It is connected to the South China Sea by the Taiwan Strait. Its Chinese name means eastern sea. Additional reading For the East China sea, see Dennis E. Hayes (ed.), The Tectonic and Geologic Evolution of Southeast Asian Seas and Islands, 2 vol. (198083); John M. Wageman, Thomas W.C. Hilde, and K.O. Emery, Structural Framework of East China Sea and Yellow Sea, American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin 54(9):16111643 (1970); and Choon-Ho Park, East Asia and the Law of the Sea (1983). The periodical Progress in Oceanography (eight times a year) includes, among other relevant writings, selections of papers presented at the workshops of the Japan and East China Seas Study group, which take place from time to time in Japan. Eugene C. LaFond