The statement reiterated China’s claim to disputed East China Sea islands controlled by Japan – called Senkaku by Japan and Diaoyu by China – and said it was the Japanese government that altered the status quo by purchasing the chain from its private Japanese owners in 2012.
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His answer echoed that of Supreme Court Associate Justice Francis Jardeleza who said weeks ago that fishermen should exercise caution while local government units sort out guidelines and safeguards for their protection.
Chinese citizens and foreigners convicted of “serious” illegal activities like unlicensed fishing or wildlife poaching in Chinese waters will have to face the same punishment.
Davis warned that the direction could mean Filipino fishermen operating in waters the United Nations tribunal ruled belong to the Philippines could be apprehended by Chinese vessels and be “prosecuted in direct contradiction of the (Hague) ruling”.
China’s Supreme Court has said that people caught illegally fishing in Chinese waters could be jailed for up to a year, while the military said it wants to give a “bloody nose” to Vietnam, the Philippines, and other states claiming territory in the South China Sea. There is a “clear legal basis for China to safeguard maritime order, marine safety and interests, and to exercise integrated management over the country’s jurisdictional seas”, it said.
The Hague-based worldwide arbitration court said there is no legal basis for China’s “historic claims” of ownership to islands and reefs in the disputed South China Sea under its so-called nine-dash line.
Analysts claim Beijing has resorted to this rhetoric in a bid to justify its claims to the disputed sea following the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration rejecting China’s territorial claims in the region. The review also raises concerns that Kim Jong-un might have acquired a missile that could potentially hit targets as far away as 10,000 kms (6,200 miles).
Beijing called out the US for interference, and implied the country was willing to go into military conflict over the territory.
China recently has been touting what it sees as Russian support for its South China Sea stance.
Beijing and Jakarta have also clashed over maritime rights, with Beijing claiming “historic” fishing grounds close to Indonesia’s Natuna Islands.
The court spokesman’s remarks, in slamming surveillance activities by foreign vessels in China’s territorial waters, appear to leave open the option, say analysts.
“This is one of the priority issues that we must take up when we go into direct talks with China”, Jose said Wednesday.
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TOKYO (AP) Japan called North Korea’s nuclear and missile development a “grave and imminent threat” to the region and worldwide security, and criticized China’s increasingly assertive military action as “dangerous” in its annual defense report.
