China and South Korea likely to hold maritime talks after Yellow Sea standoff

Seoul, April 14 (IANS) South Korea and China plan to hold working-level talks on maritime issues later this month, diplomatic sources said Monday, as Seoul seeks to reinforce calls for stability following a recent standoff with Beijing in overlapping waters.

The two countries are fine-tuning the details to hold the Director General-level dialogue in Seoul, headed by their foreign ministries, sources said.

The talks, if realised, would come after the brief standoff between the two neighbours in the Yellow Sea in February, when Chinese authorities blocked the South Korean Coast Guard's attempt to approach a steel structure built by China in the Provisional Maritime Zone (PMZ) near South Korea's southwest coast.

Seoul sent a research ship to investigate the structure China installed without authorization. China claimed that the structure was a commercial aquafarm and that Seoul had no right to investigate.

The PMZ is an area where the Exclusive Economic Zones of South Korea and China overlap. The two sides have reached an agreement to allow their fishing vessels to operate there and jointly manage marine resources, while prohibiting any activities beyond navigation and fishing.

Despite the agreement, China has installed several large steel structures in the zone, raising concerns over potential territorial disputes, Yonhap news agency reported.

Should the talks take place, South Korea is expected to highlight its position that no Chinese activities in the overlapping waters should affect its "legitimate and lawful" maritime rights.

China has faced pushback from South Korea after it was discovered that Beijing had installed two structures in the area in 2018 and 2024, before a third one was found earlier this year. The installations have prompted Seoul to address the issue more assertively.

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul raised the issue during his bilateral talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Tokyo last month. Wang called for continued communication based on mutual respect for maritime rights.

Seoul and Beijing launched the maritime dialogue in December 2019 as a bilateral channel for broad discussions on related issues. Their previous talks took place in April and June of 2021.

--IANS

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