Expert says US should flag China's steel structures in West Sea as example of 'grey zone' tactics

A U.S. expert called Tuesday for the United States to flag China's installation of maritime structures in and around a jointly managed zone between Korea and China in the West Sea as another example of Beijing's "grey zone" tactics against America's regional partners. Victor Cha, president of the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department and Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), made the call in an analysis, indicating the need for strong measures to address those tactics and preserve freedom of navigation in the West Sea. Since 2018, China has installed steel structures in and around the Provisional Maritime Zone (PMZ), an area in the West Sea where the exclusive economic zones of Korea and China overlap, in what Cha saw as grey zone tactics — activities that cause tension, but fall short of triggering a direct or full-blown armed conflict. Korea sent its vessels to the zone to monitor Chinese activities in the PMZ in recent years. But their efforts were blocked by the Chinese Coast Guard on multiple occasions, leading to standoffs between the twoWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times