Chinese personnel spotted on structure in disputed waters near Korean Peninsula

Escalating a long-simmering maritime dispute, Chinese personnel have for the first time been identified on a contentious offshore structure built by Beijing in the West Sea’s Provisional Measures Zone (PMZ) — an overlapping area of the two nations’ exclusive economic zones. The revelation, disclosed Wednesday by a Korean lawmaker, swiftly prompted calls in Seoul for the government to take countervailing measures against what was described as an increasingly assertive move by China. Rep. Yi Byeong-jin of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) disclosed recent photographs of the Chinese installation ahead of a parliamentary audit of the Coast Guard. According to Yi, the photos show five individuals on the structure known as Sunlan No. 2, installed last year. Two people are visible on the upper deck, two are on the mid-left section, and one wearing a diving suit appears to be maintaining oxygen tanks near the waterline, he said. The mounting tension around the PMZ comes as China accelerates "gray zone" tactics in the region, including setting up structures near Ieodo, a disputed sWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times