The accident comes after Foreign minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday, August 9, called in Cheng Yonghua, Beijing’s envoy to Tokyo, following what Tokyo calls “intrusions” by Chinese ships near the disputed islands for 5 consecutive days.
Advertisement
Beijing has conducted massive reclamation in the South China Sea, with a US-based think tank releasing images this week showing what appears to be China building military aircraft hangars on disputed reefs.
Relations between Japan and China have always been strained also over how to develop undersea gas deposits in the area, as well as by their wartime history, a sensitive topic during the summer because of end-of-the-war anniversaries.
Relations have cooled since a UN-backed tribunal ruled last month that China’s claims over most of the South China Sea were invalid, in a sweeping victory for the Philippines which brought the case.
Meantime, a newly launched satellite will help China protect its maritime interests, the official China Daily newspaper reported, amid growing tensions over disputed territory in the South China Sea.
In its July 12 ruling, the five-member Arbitral Tribunal upheld Manila’s position that China’s “nine-dash line” maritime claim is excessive and encroached into the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
China claims nearly the entire South China Sea where about $5 trillion worth of trade passes every year.
Be proactive – Use the “Flag as Inappropriate” link at the upper right corner of each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
“There was no discussion on that particular aspect except to mention equal fishing rights”, Ramos told reporters.
Japan has no claim in the South China Sea but it is in dispute with China over small islands in the East China Sea.
Tensions quickly escalated, resulting in a standoff, and eventually in Manila seeking worldwide arbitration.
THE Japanese government is preparing to repatriate whatever remains of 32,000 Japanese soldiers who died in the Philippines during the Second World War could be found, an official said.
He also met with Wu Shichun, president of China’s National Institute of South China Seas Studies.
Japan’s MOFA said that it had notified Beijing of the incident and the Japan Coast Guard’s response, and added that the Chinese government “expressed its gratitude”. “So we will have to allow each other [in] again”, Alunan said.
Advertisement
Ramos said they also “talked about fishing”, referring to China driving away Filipino fishermen from a shoal it occupied in 2012 after a stand-off with Philippine authorities.
