Kwak Yeon-soo is a digital editor at The Korea Times creating, editing and curating digital content for the newspaper’s website, mobile app and social media. She previously covered a diverse array of cultural, political and business topics.
South Korea condemns China for installing unauthorized structures in West Sea
Lawmakers and experts pose during an open forum held at the National Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday, to discuss ways to confront China's unauthorized installation of steel structures in the West Sea. Yonhap
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Analysts call for 'proportional' response
South Korea should strengthen efforts to prevent China from possibly conducting strategic operations to expand its control in the West Sea after installing unauthorized steel structures there, analysts warned Tuesday.
Since 2018, China has been installing several large steel structures in a disputed area known as the Provisional Measures Zone (PMZ) in the West Sea, where the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of Korea and China overlap. South Korean intelligence agencies estimate that one structure exceeds 70 meters in width and height.
China insists that the installations are for aquaculture purposes, but South Korea fears that China is using “gray zone” tactics to expand its maritime sovereignty like it did when building artificial islands in the South China Sea. Gray zone tactics are state or nonstate actions that fall in the ambiguous space between peace and war, employing a range of coercive measures short of direct military conflict to achieve strategic goals.
Kim Doo-young, former deputy registrar at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), said the Chinese-installed steel structures may block South Korea’s fishing vessels from passing.
“Assuming that 12 structures — each 70 meters in diameter — are installed 1 kilometer apart from one another, it will have the effect of blocking more than 12 kilometers. In this case, Korea’s fishing vessels will be unable to pass,” Kim said during an open forum held at the National Assembly.
“It’s desirable to resolve this incident through diplomatic means, but I have low expectations given China’s behavior in the South China Sea. Ultimately, we should take this to the international tribunal like the Philippines sought international arbitration in 2013. We could seek dispute settlement in the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.”
Nam Sung-wook, a professor of North Korean studies at Korea University, raised the possibility that China may employ these structures for military use in the future.
“If you draw a straight line from those structures to the Korean Peninsula, it will reach Mokpo, Muan and Pyeongtaek,” Nam said. “The reason for targeting Pyeongtaek could be to block naval operations of South Korea and the U.S. in the event of a Taiwan emergency.”
Nam stressed that it is important that South Korea does not allow China to normalize its activities, calling on the government to react “in proportion.”
“It takes years to take the case to the international tribunal, and it does not have legally binding force. China rejected the tribunal’s ruling in the South China Sea case, and it continues to ignore maritime law. So we should aggressively install structures like China is doing under the principle of proportionality,” the professor said.
Rep. Sung Il-jong, third from left, and lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party speak at the National Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday, to condemn China's recent moves to install steel structures in a disputed area known as the Provisional Measures Zone in the West Sea. Yonhap
On Tuesday, the Assembly’s National Defense Committee and lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) expressed deep regret over China’s unilateral move to install the steel structures and urged opposition parties to join them in adopting a resolution calling on China to halt its unauthorized activities in the West Sea.
“It is likely that China’s recent actions in the West Sea are part of its ‘gray zone’ strategy that is aimed at slowly advancing its interests. If we cannot protect the West Sea, we cannot protect our sovereignty. China’s latest attempt is not just a diplomatic issue, but a direct challenge to our maritime security,” PPP interim leader Rep. Kwon Young-se said.
At a National Assembly committee meeting on Monday, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said it would be illegal under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea for China to claim maritime sovereignty on the basis of the structures.