At a recent South Korea-China maritime cooperation dialogue, China reportedly raised objections to South Korea’s Ieodo Ocean Research Station, claiming it lies within China’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The move followed South Korea’s protest over China’s unilateral installation of fixed structures in the Provisional Measures Zone (PMZ), an area the two sides agreed to manage jointly under a 2001 fisheries agreement. By targeting Ieodo—which lies outside the PMZ—China appears to be attempting to deflect attention from its own actions.
Ieodo sits just 149 kilometers from South Korea’s Marado Island, where South Korean citizens reside, while the nearest Chinese island is 247 kilometers away. Even under the equidistance principle, a standard method for maritime boundary demarcation, jurisdiction over Ieodo clearly falls to South Korea. That is why Seoul began constructing the research station in 1995, six years before the fisheries agreement was signed.
China has long stalled maritime boundary talks, insisting that factors such as population size and coastline length be considered in EEZ delimitation—a position that would favor its larger territory and population. The strategy appears rooted in a belief that China’s claims will gain more weight as its national power increasingly eclipses South Korea’s. Beijing’s growing number of installations near South Korea’s EEZ claims seems part of this broader calculation.
Following the latest dialogue, South Korea’s National Assembly Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee approved a 60.5 billion won ($44 million) budget to counter China’s moves. The funding includes 60 billion won for new structures and 500 million won for research. It is critical that the government and lawmakers ensure the budget passes the full assembly without cuts.
Seoul should also consider expanding and reinforcing the Ieodo Ocean Research Station. A failure to respond proportionately risks emboldening China and triggering a full-scale effort to revise the maritime status quo in the West Sea (Yellow Sea).
