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China's deployment of ships during Lee's summits with U.S., Japan leaders raises concerns

Published: 16 Sep. 2025, 11:44 Updated: 16 Sep. 2025, 17:48

China’s Fujian vessel on its first sea trial [BAIDU]

China deployed an average of three warships per day to the Provisional Measures Zone (PMZ), where Korea’s and China’s exclusive economic zones overlap, during Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s state visits to Japan and the United States last month. The deployments have raised concerns in Seoul that Beijing is seeking to normalize its military presence on the maritime border.

The Korean military tracked a surge in Chinese naval activity from Aug. 23 to 28, when Lee traveled to Tokyo for a summit with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and then to Washington for his first meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, according to multiple military sources and Rep. Lim Jong-deuk of the People Power Party on Monday.

Analysts say Beijing likely timed the deployments to signal its disapproval of a rare round of back-to-back trilateral diplomacy among Seoul, Tokyo and Washington since the launch of Korea’s new administration. Military data shows Chinese warships entered Korea’s jurisdictional waters in the Yellow Sea roughly 360 times in 2023 and about 330 times last year.

“China’s decision to send warships to the Yellow Sea during this series of summits suggests it wanted to counter the diplomatic message of Seoul, Washington and Tokyo," said Park Won-gon, a professor of international relations at Ewha Womans University.

Military sources said the vessels included Type 054A frigates and the newer Type 054B frigates. This is the first time Korean authorities have publicly disclosed the exact classes of Chinese warships operating in the area.

The Type 054A is a 4,000-ton frigate, and civilian military experts estimate that China’s navy operates about 30 of them.

The 054B is a 6,000-ton stealth-capable upgrade. The lead ship of the class, the Luohe, was delivered to the Northern Theater Command Fleet — which oversees the Yellow Sea — on Jan. 22, according to China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency. No evidence suggests a second ship has been commissioned, leading analysts to believe the vessel spotted last month was the Luohe.

The Luohe is equipped with 32 vertical launch cells and can carry anti-ship, anti-air and anti-submarine missiles. It is expected to operate alongside the Fujian, China’s third aircraft carrier, which conducted exercises in the Yellow Sea this May.

The People's Liberation Army Navy Type 054A frigate Yuncheng sails into Hong Kong during a five-day visit alongside the aircraft carrier Shandong, in Hong Kong, China, on July 3. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The Korean military also monitors regular incursions by other Chinese ships, including the 11,000-ton Type 055 Renhai-class destroyer, the 7,500-ton Type 052D Luyang III-class destroyer, the Type 815 intelligence-gathering ship and the 2,250-ton Type 053 frigates. These vessels are believed to conduct training drills and live-fire tests.

Intelligence collection ships are of particular concern for Seoul, as they are designed to intercept signals from U.S. and Korean naval assets.

Australia reported a similar incident in 2022, when a Chinese Type 815 vessel passed near the Harold E. Holt naval communications station in Western Australia. Australian officials suspected that its passage was an attempt to collect information on Australian and U.S. naval operations following the launch of the Aukus security partnership among the United States, United Kingdom and Australia.

Observers say this fits a broader Chinese effort to strengthen intelligence capabilities after President Xi Jinping established an independent Information Support Force last year to boost modern warfare capabilities. Experts say Korea should closely monitor the routes and frequency of Chinese intelligence-gathering ships going forward.

Chinese marine buoys discovered by the South Korean Navy on May 20, 2023, in the Yellow Sea. [REPUBLIC OF KOREA NAVY]

The PMZ is an overlapping section of the two countries’ 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zones, and international law treats it as high seas, which means warship transits are legally permissible.

But Korean officials warn that Beijing has used similar tactics in the South China Sea to advance territorial claims. China has previously installed structures and buoys in the PMZ, claiming they were for fishing purposes — a move that Seoul views as gray-zone provocations.

Korea has dispatched Aegis destroyers to monitor Chinese ships, but maintaining a proportional presence is increasingly difficult. The U.S. Congressional Research Service estimates that China’s navy has about 370 warships and will grow to 435 by 2030. Korea operates roughly 150 ships, less than half the size of China’s fleet.

Korea's Navy says it will increase its patrol frequency to maintain a proportional response, though this will inevitably raise operational fatigue.

“China’s activity in the Yellow Sea resembles its strategy to turn the South China Sea into its own waters," Rep. Lim said. "The Yellow Sea is vital to Korea’s fishing rights, security and sovereignty, so Seoul needs both diplomatic and military measures in response.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY LEE YU-JUNG, SHIM SEOK-YONG [[email protected]]