China blocks S. Korean survey ship near West Sea structures in 2nd standoff this year: report

Chinese coast guard vessels blocked a South Korean ship last month in an overlapping sea zone of the Yellow Sea while it was inspecting Chinese-built structures, causing a standoff, a U.S. think tank has said. The incident was revealed in a report titled "Korea-China Standoff in the Provisional Measure Zone (PMZ)," published on Monday (U.S. time) by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Citing data from maritime analytics firm Starboard Maritime Intelligence, CSIS said the South Korean research vessel Onnuri entered the Provisional Maritime Zone (PMZ), an overlapping sea zone between the two countries, in the Yellow Sea on Sept. 24 to inspect steel structures installed by China. About six hours later, a Chinese coast guard vessel approached the Onnuri, followed by two additional ships from a port in Qingdao. In response, a South Korean coast guard vessel moved to the area to provide support. The following day, the Onnuri and the South Korean coast guard ship approached two Chinese aquaculture structures, identified as Shenlan No. 1 and Shenlan No. 2,Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times