▲ The 4th Korea-China Maritime Cooperation Dialogue
South Korea and China have reaffirmed their respective positions regarding the issue of Chinese structures installed in the Provisional Measures Zone (PMZ) in the Yellow Sea.
While the South Korean side conveyed its concerns over the Yellow Sea structures and emphasized its fundamental position, China maintained that the structures are purely aquaculture facilities and have no connection to sovereignty or maritime boundary delimitation.
The South Korean government has consistently maintained that its legitimate and lawful maritime rights and interests must not be infringed upon in connection with the Chinese structures.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced today (September 22) that South Korea and China held the 4th Korea-China Maritime Cooperation Dialogue in Tianjin, China, yesterday (September 21) to discuss bilateral maritime issues, including the Yellow Sea structures and illegal fishing.
The meeting was led by Nam Jin, director-general for Northeast and Central Asian affairs at South Korea's Foreign Ministry, and Hou Yanqi, director-general of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs at China's Foreign Ministry, as chief delegates.
From the South Korean side, officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the Ministry of National Defense, the Korea Coast Guard, and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in China attended the meeting, while the Chinese side included officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the China Coast Guard, and the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs.
According to the Foreign Ministry, South Korea conveyed its concerns regarding the Yellow Sea structures and emphasized the Seoul government's basic stance.
Seoul has raised concerns over China's unilateral installation of structures in the Yellow Sea's Provisional Measures Zone, stating that South Korea's legitimate and lawful maritime rights and interests must not be infringed upon.
At the 3rd Korea-China Maritime Cooperation Dialogue held in April last year, the government also conveyed "deep concern" over the Chinese structures and underlined the same stance.
Conversely, the Chinese side reiterated during this meeting that the structures are facilities purely for aquaculture purposes and are unrelated to sovereignty or maritime boundary delimitation.
China has previously claimed that the facilities were installed by Chinese companies for aquaculture and do not violate the Korea-China Fisheries Agreement.
Beijing has also maintained that they comply with Chinese domestic law and international law, and have no bearing on maritime boundary delimitation.
Although differences in their stances remain, there have been some changes this year in the situation surrounding the Yellow Sea structures.
China had been operating the large deep-sea aquaculture facilities "Shenlan 1" and "Shenlan 2," as well as the offshore platform "Atlantic Amsterdam," which serves as an aquaculture management platform, in the Provisional Measures Zone.
Among them, the management platform, which the South Korean government had particularly taken issue with, was moved outside the Provisional Measures Zone in January.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a U.S. think tank, previously revealed through analysis of satellite imagery and Automatic Identification System (AIS) data that the platform left the Provisional Measures Zone between January 27 and 28 and arrived at a commercial shipyard in Weihai, China, on January 31.
However, the two large aquaculture facilities, Shenlan 1 and Shenlan 2, still remain in the Provisional Measures Zone.
The Foreign Ministry also stated in June, "The platform structure has been moved outside the Provisional Measures Zone, and two structures still remain," adding, "We continue to maintain close discussions between South Korea and China regarding the remaining structures."
The Yellow Sea's Provisional Measures Zone is a designated area where the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) claims of South Korea and China overlap, established under the Korea-China Fisheries Agreement so that fishing vessels of both nations can operate under their respective domestic laws and jointly manage marine living resources.
During this meeting, South Korea and China agreed to continue consultations on the issue of the structures based on the spirit of mutual respect.
The two sides also discussed strengthening joint enforcement against illegal fishing in the Yellow Sea and expanding practical cooperation, such as search and rescue drills and joint fish fry releases in the Provisional Measures Zone.
They also agreed to continue maritime boundary delimitation negotiations.
South Korea and China held the 15th working group meeting for maritime boundary delimitation negotiations in Chengdu, China, in May, and at this maritime cooperation dialogue, they agreed to continue boundary delimitation efforts, including maritime delimitation talks.
Both sides agreed to hold the 5th Korea-China Maritime Cooperation Dialogue in South Korea at a mutually convenient time.
The Korea-China Maritime Cooperation Dialogue is a director-general-level consultative body established in December 2019 following an agreement between the foreign ministers of the two countries to discuss comprehensive bilateral maritime issues.
(Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yonhap News)
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