Seoul, Beijing at odds over West Sea structures, but vow to keep talking

South Korea and China reaffirmed their differing positions on the contentious issue of Chinese-built structures in their jointly administered West Sea zone during interagency maritime talks, with Seoul requesting that all three structures be relocated outside the zone, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

Despite the friction, the two sides launched a working group to address the issue during the 12-hour maritime cooperation dialogue in Seoul — a platform for broad discussions on a wide range of maritime issues, according to the ministry.

"Both sides shared the understanding that the issue should not become an obstruction to the current trajectory of developing bilateral relations and agreed to continue communication through various channels at all levels," read a statement from the Seoul ministry.

The meeting came at a critical juncture, as China’s intention to install three structures within the Provisional Measures Zone — a jointly managed area agreed upon by the two countries — from 2018 to 2024 raised concerns in Seoul.

Seoul's concerns stem from China’s past behavior both in the South China Sea and East China Sea, including the building of artificial islands and military bases in disputed waters — often within other countries’ excusive economic zones — causing tensions with neighboring countries such as the Philippines and Vietnam.

Kang Young-shin, director-general for Northeast and Central Asian affairs at the South Korean Foreign Ministry, and Hong Liang, director-general of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs at the Chinese Foreign Ministry, led the meeting.

“Director-General Kang conveyed the Korean government’s deep concerns over the Chinese-built structures in the West Sea and emphasized the stance that Korea’s legitimate and lawful maritime rights and interests must not be infringed upon," the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said.

“The Chinese side explained that the structures were purely for aquaculture purposes and unrelated to issues of sovereignty or maritime boundary delimitation," Seoul said.

China unilaterally constructed the Shenlan-1 facility in 2018, claiming it was deep-sea fishery farming equipment. In 2022, it constructed a steel structure under the guise of a deep-sea aquaculture management support facility. It was followed by another facility, the Shenlan-2 facility, in 2024.

"To fundamentally resolve the issue, we requested that the three structures — currently located within the Provisional Measures Zone under the bilateral fisheries agreement — be relocated outside the zone," a senior Foreign Ministry official said Thursday on condition of anonymity.

The PMZ was established under the Korea-China Fisheries Agreement of 2000, since the two countries have overlapping EEZs, without delineating a clear maritime boundary.

In response to Seoul's request for the relocation, the Chinese side said the three facilities were constructed with private company investment and insisted that this be taken into consideration, The Korea Herald has learned. The Chinese side claimed that Shenlan-1 and Shenlan-2 are floating facilities, while the one installed in 2022 is not a permanently fixed installation.

Chinese authorities also expressed their intent to arrange an on-site visit by South Korean officials if necessary, The Korea Herald learned.

"Our position is that all South Korean and Chinese fishing vessels should be able to freely navigate and operate in the Provisional Measures Zone, but the installation of the structures has caused disruptions to our navigation and fishing activities, thereby infringing upon our maritime rights and interests," the official said.

"We also made it clear to the Chinese side that we will consider proportional countermeasures if they say relocating the three structures would be difficult," the official added.

The South Korean government has detected signs that China is constructing an additional structure, widely known as the Shenlan-3 facility, this year.

However, The Korea Herald has learned that Seoul has tentatively concluded Beijing will likely refrain from building a new facility within the PMZ, while remaining prepared for other scenarios.

"We clearly conveyed that we cannot accept the unilateral installation of any additional structures under any circumstances," the official said.

During the meeting, Seoul and Beijing agreed to launch two working-level subcommittees, respectively tasked with addressing disputes and enhancing cooperation.

“The first subcommittee on Maritime Order addresses bilateral issues such as Chinese-built structures in the West Sea and illegal fishing,” the Seoul ministry said. “The second subcommittee, on Practical Cooperation, handles areas of collaboration including joint fish release and maritime search and rescue operations.”

The third Korea-China Dialogue on Maritime Cooperation marked the first in-person session, as the previous two meetings — in April 2021 and June 2022 — were conducted virtually via video conference with the participation of relevant ministries.

Wednesday's interagency meeting included around 20 personnel from the South Korean side, the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Ministry, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and the Korea Coast Guard. From the Chinese side, some 20 participants included members of the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Ministry, the National Resources Ministry, the Transport Ministry, and the China Coast Guard.

Seoul and Beijing agreed to hold a fourth meeting in China at a mutually convenient time.