2015年CRI Expert: China-ROK Maritime Talks Long Way to Go

The meeting, scheduled for next Tuesday in Seoul, will be co-chaired by the Chinese Vice 1 Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin and his ROK counterpart Cho Tae-yul.

China says it hopes the talks will set an example for regional countries to solve similar issues.

Chinese Foreign Ministry 2 spokesman Hong Lei.

"China hopes that the two countries will resolve the overlapping 4 claims fairly and reasonably through friendly consultations 5 and set a good example for the region's countries in resolving similar issues."

The exclusive economic zones of China and South Korea overlap 3 in the Yellow Sea.

Both sides agreed to start demarcation talks when President Xi Jinping visited South Korea last year.

While many think that improved China-South Korea relations have smoothed the way for negotiations 6, military observer Yin Zhuo argues there is still a long way to go before an agreement is reached.

"The two sides still remain divided on which principle applies to the demarcation in the sea area. South Korea advocates a median line drawn 7 equidistant from the coastline of the two states, while China thinks the problem should be settled based on the extension of the continental 8 shelf."

China says the continental shelf in the Yellow Sea shares the same geological characteristics as its territorial 9 continent, so should be regarded as the natural extension of the land territory, under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

As the seabed between the two sides slopes downwards 10 from China to South Korea, many believe China will gain a larger area than South Korea if the continental shelf principle is adopted.

But Yin Zhuo suggests there are other more urgent matters for the Korean side to address.

"The Korean side advocates the median-line principle in talks with China, but when it addresses maritime 11 disputes with Japan, it resorts to the continental shelf principle. This doesn't conform to international law."

The demarcation issue has been brought up regularly at bilateral 12 meetings between China and South Korea, but asyet no settlement has been reached.

The ambiguous maritime border has resulted in a series of issues, including repeated clashes between Chinese fishermen and the ROK Coast Guard in the disputed area.

Yin Zhuo suggested both sides should take measures to prevent the issue hampering 13 the development of the bilateral relations.

"China and South Korea share broad common ground when it comes to North Korean issues, the stability in East Asia and historical disputes. Both governments should prevent it from whipping up contradictory 14 feelings between the two peoples."

Another focus of maritime disputes between the two is a reef in the East China Sea, called Suyan Reef by the Chinese and Ieodo by Koreans.

Both sides agree the reef is not a 'territory' dispute, as it remains 15 submerged even at low tide.

China ensured its 2013 air defense 16 identification zone in the East China Sea extends over it.

In response, South Korea has expanded its own ADIZ to cover the reef.

For CRI, this is Tu Yun.