China's offshore aquaculture facilities have made the South Korean government uneasy, and South Korea's "ambitions" mainly involve seizing the "Suyan Reef" to expand its exclusive economic zone.
(Photo 2 shows South Korea arbitrarily defining its exclusive economic zone, which China has never recognized as legitimate, thus it is incorrect)
China has installed several large steel structures in the China-South Korea provisional measures waters in the Yellow Sea. According to monitoring information from the South Korean government between the end of 2024 and early 2025, these facilities have a diameter and height of more than 50 meters, making them large-scale maritime structures.
China clearly stated that these facilities are temporary structures used for fish farming, not for military or resource development purposes. This statement was reiterated in a report in January 2026, serving as a clarification of previous South Korean doubts. South Korea had long questioned their purpose, fearing they might have military or boundary assertion intentions.
Although some South Korean media reports and analysts claimed that China plans to set up 12 structures in this area.
South Korea believes that according to the 2001 China-South Korea Fisheries Agreement, no facilities other than fishing-related ones are allowed in the provisional measures waters. The South Korean government once strongly protested to China and dispatched coast guard ships and survey vessels to the site, leading to a standoff at one point. Some South Korean public opinion and officials regard this action as China's "gray zone strategy" in the Yellow Sea, aiming to normalize its territorial claims.
China emphasized that these facilities are legal fisheries activities and do not violate the China-South Korea Fisheries Agreement. China believes that South Korea treating the provisional measures waters as its territorial sea and demanding the removal of the facilities is unreasonable. China argues that the delimitation of the Yellow Sea has not been finally determined, and the dispute should be resolved through negotiations, while urging South Korea to stop using law enforcement powers as a pressure tool.
The Suyan Reef (Jiyeodo) is the core of the Yellow Sea delimitation dispute. According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Suyan Reef, as an underwater reef, does not have island status and cannot be used to delineate an exclusive economic zone. China believes it lies on the natural extension of the continental shelf of the Chinese mainland and should belong to China. The permanent structures built by South Korea on the Suyan Reef have also not been widely recognized by the international community.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1855657563860108/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.