Seoul-Beijing EEZ talks face touch road ahead

Second Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, right, and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin shake hands at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in central Seoul, Tuesday, ahead of their talks to solve disputes over overlapping exclusive economic zones in the West Sea. / Yonhap

Officials meet in Seoul for first time in seven years

By Jun Ji-hye

Korea and China resumed talks Tuesday to resolve their overlapping exclusive economic zones (EEZ) in the West Sea, the first round of discussions on the issue since 2008.

However, many experts say the negotiations will take years because the two sides remain poles apart on key issues.

The dialogue began again after President Park Geun-hye and her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping reached an agreement to do so in July 2014.

An EEZ is a sea zone that extends 200 nautical miles from a nation’s coastline in which special rights regarding exploration and the use of marine resources are provided under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The longstanding bilateral dispute has continued because the EEZs of the two sides partially overlap in the West Sea where the width of the waters is comparatively narrow.

During previous negotiations conducted from 1996 to 2008, Korea claimed that a median line based on equal distance from each nation’s coastline should become a demarcation line for determining extent of the EEZ, while China argued that the total length of the coastlines and the population that reside along them must be taken into account when drawing up the demarcation. China wants the line to extend eastward.

The negotiations this time are the first vice ministerial-level talks, led by Second Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin. Previous ones were led by director-level officials. This shows the will of the two sides to resolve the dispute at a time when Seoul-Beijing relations have been in good shape under the Park and Xi governments, observers said.

But tough negotiating is expected because once defined, it is hard to revise the boundaries of the zone, one reason why the two sides are reluctant to make a concession.

One of the toughest issues is the claims by both countries on Ieodo, a submerged rock in the overlapping EEZs, on which Korea operates scientific research facilities.

The submerged reef controlled by Seoul lies 149 kilometers southwest of Korea's southernmost island of Marado, and 247 kilometers northeast of the nearest Chinese island Tongdao.

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