By Anadolu staff
ANKARA (AA) - The South Korean naval chief on Thursday accused China of violating international law in the Yellow Sea, local media reported.
“I believe that (China) is not complying with international law in the West Sea, Yellow Sea Provisional Measures Zone,” Chief of Naval Operations Gen. Kang Dong-gil told a parliamentary committee, without elaborating.
He made these remarks during the National Assembly Defense Committee's audit of the Navy Headquarters, the local English newspaper The Chosun Daily reported.
Kang's statement is seen as an unusual move for a senior military official to make such remarks.
There was no immediate reaction from Beijing to King's statement until the filing of this report.
When asked if there is a possibility of military use of the Chinese “Xianlan,” a series of deep-sea aquaculture and platform installations in the Yellow Sea, Kang replied, “There is.”
The territory is under dispute between China and South Korea.
Responding to a question from a lawmaker regarding a comparison of naval capabilities between South Korea and China, Kang said: “China holds an advantage in both qualitative and quantitative aspects.”
Earlier, during the National Assembly's audit of the South Korea Coast Guard, the issue of Chinese structures within the Yellow Sea PMZ was highlighted as a "key concern."
Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lee Byung-jin stated that five personnel wearing diving suits and oxygen tanks were identified at the Chinese “Xianlan” structure in the Yellow Sea.
He pointed out that a vessel resembling a high-speed boat was spotted near the structure, implying that it is not the "aquaculture" operation claimed by China.
Concerns about China's fifth-generation stealth fighter, the J-20, were raised during an audit of the Air Force Headquarters by the National Assembly Defense Committee.
Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on July 29 that a Chinese fifth-generation stealth fighter, the J-20, flew over the Korea Strait, but neither South Korea nor Japan detected it.