South Korea installs platform to monitor Chinese presence in disputed sea
South Korea has set up a "reciprocal" platform in a disputed area of the Yellow Sea, known in Seoul as the West Sea, where China has increasingly built structures, Oceans Minister Kang Do-hyung said on Wednesday.
China says its structures are fish farming equipment, but they have raised alarm bells in Seoul over concerns Beijing could be seeking to stake claims in the Provisional Maritime Zone, where the two countries' exclusive economic zones overlap.
Kang told parliament that South Korea is monitoring the Chinese presence by setting up a stationary floating platform for "environmental survey."
"South Korea has taken reciprocal measure with a large-scale floating object," he said.
In February, a South Korean research vessel sent to examine the Chinese structures was blocked by Chinese coast guard ships and rubber boats carrying civilians, according to South Korean media reports.
The South Korean coast guard also deployed and was involved in a two-hour stand-off before retreating, the reports said.
Lawmakers from South Korea's ruling People Power Party on Tuesday called the Chinese presence a "direct challenge to marine security" and urged a more forceful response.
Kwon Young-se, chairman of the party's emergency response committee, said China was using fishing as a pretext and compared its actions to those it has taken in the South China Sea, where Beijing claims vast swaths of the area, despite overlapping claims by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
"The West Sea is not just a sea, the West Sea is Korea," he said. "It is where many fishermen make their living, and the front line of our security."
In a statement on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Seoul said some reports about the structures were not factual and that they do not violate any agreements.
"The fact is that the relevant facilities set up by China are deep-sea fishery aquaculture facilities located in China's coastal waters, which are China's reasonable use of offshore marine resources," the spokesperson said in a statement.
China maintains communication through diplomatic channels, and hopes to "avoid unwarranted politicization of the matter," the spokesperson added. "China and South Korea have maintained good and smooth communication on their differences related to the sea."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Kyodo News
an hour ago
- Kyodo News
Chinese carrier sails near Japan's easternmost island for 1st time
KYODO NEWS - 4 hours ago - 23:03 | All, World, Japan The Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning has been spotted in the vicinity of Japan's easternmost island in the Pacific, the Japanese Defense Ministry said Sunday, noting that it is the first time that a Chinese carrier has sailed in those waters. The carrier, along with two destroyers and another vessel, was seen in waters about 300 kilometers southwest of Minamitori Island, which is approximately 1,900 km southeast of Tokyo, at around 6 p.m. Saturday. The area is within Japan's exclusive economic zone. The Liaoning then moved southwest and conducted landing and takeoff drills involving its fighter jets and helicopters on Sunday. The move comes as the Chinese navy is expanding its activities in waters around Japan. The Japanese government is stepping up its information-gathering and surveillance
Yomiuri Shimbun
13 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Taiwan Coast Guard, Military Drill to Better Face China's ‘Grey Zone' Threat
Reuters Taiwan's coast guard conducts its annual drill in southern Taiwan, simulating the seizure of a ferry by 'international terrorists', in collaboration with Taiwan's military to board and take back control of the boat and evacuate casualties, in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, June 8, 2025. KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan, June 8 (Reuters) – Taiwan's coast guard held drills with the military on Sunday to better practice joint operations in the face of what the government in Taipei says is a growing 'grey zone' threat from China, which claims the island as its own territory. Democratically governed Taiwan has repeatedly complained about activities such as undersea cable cutting and sand dredging by China around the island, designed to pressure it without direct confrontation. It is often Taiwan's coast guard that scrambles first to respond. The drills in the southern port city of Kaohsiung, overseen by President Lai Ching-te, simulated the seizing of a ferry by 'international terrorists'. The coast guard worked with an interior ministry rescue helicopter and army medevac helicopter to board and take back control of the boat and evacuate casualties. A navy anti-submarine helicopter flew over the scene as the drill ended, along with the medevac and rescue helicopters, the first time they have flown together in such a scenario, the coast guard said. 'Taiwan has been facing constant grey intrusion from China, but our coast guard colleagues have always been on the front line to enforce the law and protect the lives and safety of the people of Taiwan,' Lai told the audience for the drills, which included the top U.S. diplomat in Kaohsiung, Neil Gibson. 'The government will continue to consolidate the strength of all departments and strengthen the resilience of the entire society to defend national security and safeguard Taiwan's democracy and freedom,' Lai said. Taiwan's coast guard, which would be pressed into military service in the event of war with China, is also routinely sent out to shadow Chinese ships during Beijing's war games around the island. The coast guard, like the navy, is in the midst of an expansion and modernisation programme. Its new Anping-class corvettes, which began being commissioned in 2020, are based on the navy's Tuo Chiang-class warships. They are state-of-the-art, highly manoeuvrable stealth vessels meant to take out larger warships while operating close to Taiwan's shores. The Anping-class ships, one of which took part in the drill, have space for launchers for the Taiwan-made Hsiung Feng anti-ship and sea-to-land missiles, as well as added equipment for rescue operations. Taiwan's government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, saying only the island's people can decide their future.
The Mainichi
19 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Japan, EU eye launch of 'competitive alliance' scheme to boost trade
BRUSSELS (Kyodo) -- Japan and the European Union are preparing to launch an "alliance" framework to beef up their companies' competitiveness by promoting trade and economic security cooperation, diplomatic sources said Saturday, facing concerns over U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and Chinese trade practices. The creation of the "Japan-EU Competitiveness Alliance" is expected to be announced at a regular summit meeting being arranged for July, when Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is likely to host European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, they said. The move will further align both sides' efforts to uphold a rules-based economic order, building on cooperation through a free trade agreement that removes tariffs and other trade barriers between the two economies, which account for 20 percent of the world's gross domestic product. Under the framework, Japan and the EU will work together to diversify supply chains for rare earth minerals in the face of China's export restrictions on the elements crucial for the production of smartphones and other high-tech products, according to the sources. They will also align subsidy conditions for environmental technology such as electric vehicle and hydrogen production to promote fair competition for manufacturers and reduce development costs. On the trade front, the two sides will seek to promote reform of the World Trade Organization that is deemed dysfunctional, with the United States dissatisfied with the global body's response to addressing Chinese trade practices and other issues. They will also seek to collaborate with the "Global South" emerging and developing economies as partners sharing values of free and fair trade as well as the rule of law, the sources said. The EU is also eager to cooperate with a vast trans-Pacific free trade agreement involving Japan and 10 other nations, plus Britain that joined the accord in 2023. Some inside the bloc have called for joining efforts in rulemaking, as members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership weigh better business environment for digital trade and climate change countermeasures.
