Expert says US should flag China's steel structures in West Sea as example of 'grey zone' tactics
Victor Cha, president of the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), speaks during a press meeting in Seoul, Sept. 19. Yonhap
A U.S. expert called Tuesday for the United States to flag China's installation of maritime structures in and around a jointly managed zone between Korea and China in the West Sea as another example of Beijing's "grey zone" tactics against America's regional partners.
Victor Cha, president of the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department and Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), made the call in an analysis, indicating the need for strong measures to address those tactics and preserve freedom of navigation in the West Sea.
Since 2018, China has installed steel structures in and around the Provisional Maritime Zone (PMZ), an area in the West Sea where the exclusive economic zones of Korea and China overlap, in what Cha saw as grey zone tactics — activities that cause tension, but fall short of triggering a direct or full-blown armed conflict.
Korea sent its vessels to the zone to monitor Chinese activities in the PMZ in recent years. But their efforts were blocked by the Chinese Coast Guard on multiple occasions, leading to standoffs between the two sides.
"The United States should flag this activity as another example of China's grey zone tactics targeting Indo-Pacific partners," Cha wrote in an article published on the website of Beyond Parallel, a CSIS project.
"Washington and Seoul should consider releasing the coordinates of the Chinese structures for public use and analysis. Washington should support any Korean claims of unilateral violations of the PMZ agreement by China," he added.
Cha pointed out that China's "civilian" installations for potential dual use purposes, and its "harassment" of Korean vessels resemble "creeping sovereignty" grey zone tactics that Beijing employed in the militarization of the South and East China Seas.
Moreover, he stressed that what the new U.S. National Security Strategy mandates for the South China Sea is applicable to Korean and U.S. efforts to maintain freedom of navigation in the West Sea: "Strong measures must be developed along with the deterrence necessary to keep those lanes open, free of 'tolls,' and not subject to arbitrary closure by one country."
Korea's foreign ministry has expressed "deep concern" over steel structures that China installed in the West Sea, stressing that Seoul's maritime interests should not be infringed upon.