A high-level Chinese official recently renewed a claim to jurisdiction over Ieodo, a submerged rock south of Jeju Island, raising tension as both countries grapple over the repatriation of North Korean defectors.

The claim by Liu Cigui, the director of China’s State Oceanic Administration, came amid rising calls from opposition parties here to scrap a project to build a naval base on Jeju. The Seoul government says the base will improve the nation’s maritime security.

Local media outlets reported over the weekend that in a March 3 interview with Xinhua News, Liu Cigui said that his administration had established a system to patrol and enforce the domestic law over areas of China’s jurisdiction “including Ieodo.”

Seoul’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday asked the Chinese Embassy in Seoul to verify the Chinese state media’s news report.

The ministry also plans to call in Chinese Embassy officials over the news reports on Monday.

“We have asked the Chinese Embassy to ascertain if the new reports are true, and from what context they came out. After verifying the facts, we will decide whether to respond to it and how to handle it,” said a Seoul official on condition of anonymity.

Ieodo is internationally called Socotra Rock, and is 4.6 meters below sea level.

The rock acts as the foundation for the Ocean Research Station, which was built in 2003 by the Korean government to measure ocean currents and accumulate data for weather forecasting, fishery and environmental protection and conservation.

South Korea says the rock lies within Korea’s exclusive economic zone ― 200 nautical miles, or 370 kilometers, from its coastline. China disputes Korea’s position and calls Korea’s activities on the rock “illegal.”

The rock in question is closer to Korea than any other country. It is located 149 kilometers southwest of Korea’s southernmost island of Marado and 247 kilometers northeast of the nearest Chinese island of Tongdao.

Experts here argue that China’s renewed claim to Ieodo appears to be a move to get the upper hand in future negotiations with South Korea over maritime territory.

“China periodically raises its territorial issue to make it an international dispute and at the same time, to strengthen its rationale for its right to the rock. The main motivation is apparently to expand its maritime economic interests given expected resources there,” said Lee Dae-woo, senior fellow at Sejong Institute, a local think tank.

Last July, China sent three patrol boats to the waters near Ieodo where South Korean workers had been trying to raise a 50,905-ton bulk carrier, which sank nearby in April. It demanded they stop the work in what it claims as its exclusive economic zone.

Last December, China announced that it would dispatch a 3,000-ton maritime monitoring ship to the waters near Ieodo. Since 2006, Beijing has argued that the rock is within its maritime jurisdiction.

The Chinese official’s claim comes at a sensitive time as the Korean government and left-wing opposition parties are locked in a stalemate over the project to build a naval base on Jeju.

With China’s repeated jurisdictional claim, some experts argue Seoul should push ahead with the naval base project to protect the country’s maritime assets and prepare for possible contingencies.

However, environmental activists, some residents and left-wing politicians argue that the construction will hurt the island’s ecosystem and tourism, result in its militarization and tarnish its image as an “island of peace.”

They also argue that the envisioned base could invite U.S. naval forces and in turn raise tension between China and the U.S.

The conflict-ridden project calls for establishing a “military-civilian” compound on the island, 90 kilometers off the peninsula’s south coast, to provide piers and other related facilities to dock a mobile fleet of up to 20 naval vessels and two 150,000-ton cruisers.

Observers here expressed concern that Beijing’s repeated claim over the rock could further worsen public sentiment here against it. Public criticism of Beijing has been rising here for forcibly repatriating North Korean defectors despite the possibility of their facing harsh punishment, including execution.

This year, the two countries mark the 20th anniversary of their diplomatic relations.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)