The difficult situation in East Asia with regard to maritime law is basically not different from that of Southeast Asia. There are also a number of semi-enclosed seas — the East China Sea, the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk — which are surrounded by a few states, and therefore common borders have to be established. In addition, the states concerned at the northwest rim of the Pacific Ocean have differing political and ideological views, and so final agreements cannot be expected in the near future. The PRC and Taiwan are officially at war and neither recognizes the international law status of the other. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) is hostile towards the Republic of Korea (South Korea). An armistice provides for relative peace; nevertheless, relations are strained. Japan and the USSR are not at war, but a peace treaty has not been negotiated because the USSR (it declared war against Japan on 7 August 1945, one day after the atom bomb struck Hiroshima) gained the southern half of Sakhalin and the entire Kuril Islands following the unconditional capitulation of Japan. Japan is now interested in regaining the islands of Shikotan, Habomai, Kunashiri and Etorofu, which lie in the vicinity of the northeastern coast of Hokkaido and were not included in the Treaty of St. Petersburg. It is mainly the refusal of the USSR to hand over these islands that hinders a final contractual settlement on maritime law questions between both states. The lack of diplomatic relations between Japan and North Korea is also a negative aspect in the overall situation. The historically founded political aversions between lapan and South Korea seem to be absolute. The dissimilarity between the neighbouring states in the northwest Pacific is also of importance. The PRC and the USSR dominate the entire region because of their political and military power, although the economic strength of Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea is a counter balance worth mentioning.