ID :
197448
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 07:07
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/197448
The shortlink copeid
China demands S. Korea stop hoisting sunken ship near Ieodo
SEOUL (Yonhap) - China has demanded South Korea halt its work to hoist a sunken commercial ship near the submerged rock of Ieodo in the East China Sea that Beijing claims as its territory, officials in Seoul said Wednesday.
Workers have been trying to raise the 50,905-ton bulk carrier, which sank in April after hitting a reef near Ieodo, some 150 kilometers southwest of Jeju Island. China sent patrol boats to the site last month and early this month and requested that they stop the work in its exclusive economic zone, according to foreign ministry officials.
The Chinese patrol boats turned back after South Korea's Coast Guard officers were dispatched to the site, officials said. Since then, the Coast Guard has been periodically patrolling the area and the lifting work is underway.
According to the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, a submerged rock can not be claimed as territory by any country.
South Korea and China agreed that Ieodo would not be subject to a territorial dispute, but Beijing expressed opposition in 2006 when South Korea built observation facilities on Ieodo.
"There was no particular dispute with China with regard to Ieodo," a foreign ministry official said. "The two nations agreed to deal with the issue and hoisting work is underway."
Workers have been trying to raise the 50,905-ton bulk carrier, which sank in April after hitting a reef near Ieodo, some 150 kilometers southwest of Jeju Island. China sent patrol boats to the site last month and early this month and requested that they stop the work in its exclusive economic zone, according to foreign ministry officials.
The Chinese patrol boats turned back after South Korea's Coast Guard officers were dispatched to the site, officials said. Since then, the Coast Guard has been periodically patrolling the area and the lifting work is underway.
According to the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, a submerged rock can not be claimed as territory by any country.
South Korea and China agreed that Ieodo would not be subject to a territorial dispute, but Beijing expressed opposition in 2006 when South Korea built observation facilities on Ieodo.
"There was no particular dispute with China with regard to Ieodo," a foreign ministry official said. "The two nations agreed to deal with the issue and hoisting work is underway."
