SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea will raise China’s construction of sea structures off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula in a dialogue with Beijing on Wednesday, Seoul’s Foreign Minister said.
China has built structures in a disputed area of the Yellow Sea, known in Seoul as the West Sea, causing South Korea to set up a “reciprocal” platform, Seoul has previously said.
Beijing has said its structures are fish-farming equipment, but they have raised alarm bells in Seoul over concerns China could be seeking to stake claims in the Provisional Maritime Zone, where the countries’ exclusive economic zones overlap.
Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul told a parliamentary committee that the issue would be raised during a “maritime cooperation dialogue” between the countries on Wednesday.
The South Korean government’s position “is to consider effective alternatives, including proportional countermeasures”, Cho said, without elaborating.
“Talks now include working-level officials discussing technical issues”, he said.
(Reporting by Joyce Lee and Hyunsu Yim; Editing by Ed Davies)
