American Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The East Sea is the connection point of many vital maritime and air routes, where the interests of many countries and territories are intertwined. Peace and stability in the East Sea have a direct influence on the peace and stability of the region and the world. The issues of conflict and escalation in disputes in the East Sea recently have become increasingly complicated and unpredictable, becoming a common concern of many countries inside and outside the region. For the participating countries, the benefits brought by the East Sea are reflected in all four layers: (1) in the air (air defense identification zone), (2) on the surface (maritime traffic, sovereign rights attached to the sea, the islands), (3) in the seabed (aquatic products), (4) at the bottom of the sea (oil and gas resources), creating different benefits for the parties involved, intertwined and extremely complicated. The objective of the article is to review the research situation on issues related to the East Sea, including studies on competition and cooperation in the East Sea, policies of relevant countries towards the South China Sea area. East Sea, thereby finding gaps that need to be further researched in order to complete the knowledge of studying the East Sea more fully.