With the spring crab season approaching, illegally operating Chinese fishing boats have returned to South Korean waters in the Yellow Sea amid the escalating THAAD dispute between Seoul and Beijing.
 
According to Korean coast guards, roughly 70 Chinese fishing boats have been found to be illegally operating in waters off the coasts of South Korea’s five Yellow Sea border islands since late last month.
 
During the crab catching season every year, a daily average of up to 800 Chinese fishing vessels illegally operated in South Korean waters near the inter-Korean sea border and the Exclusive Economic Zone in the Yellow Sea.
 
The head of a special security unit tasked with guarding the five islands pledged to sternly deal with illegal fishing by Chinese fishing boats, despite the THAAD dispute and Beijing’s apparent retaliatory action. He reiterated that crew-served weapons will be used in crackdowns on illegal Chinese fishing vessels if necessary.
 
Crab catching is allowed near the fiver border islands during only two seasons—from April to June, and from September to November—each year in order to protect the species during the spawning season.