Washington: China's refusal to comply with international law hampers its economic interests and causes regional instability, a State Department spokesperson said Wednesday, following maritime tensions between Seoul and Beijing over China's installation of steel structures in the Yellow Sea. China has constructed a set of steel structures in the Provisional Maritime Zone (PMZ) near Ieo Islet, a submerged rock off South Korea's southwest coast. The PMZ is an area where the exclusive economic zones of the two countries overlap.

According to Yonhap News Agency, "China's decades-long refusal to abide by international law, including freedom of navigation, hampers its own economic interests and causes instability in the region," the spokesperson said in response to a question from Yonhap News Agency. "Great powers are not afraid to state their intentions upfront to contribute to stability that benefits all parties," the official added.

Maritime tensions flared up in February when Seoul and Beijing engaged in a standoff as Chinese authorities blocked a South Korean ship from inspecting a Chinese steel structure installed in the PMZ.