- Title: China says its fishing activity in waters near Indonesia normal, legal
- Date: 31st December 2019
- Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (DECEMBER 31, 2019) (REUTERS) CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN GENG SHUANG ARRIVING AT DAILY NEWS CONFERENCE JOURNALISTS SITTING (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN, GENG SHUANG, SAYING: "China has sovereignty over Spratly Islands. China has sovereignty and right of jurisdiction over waters related to Spratly Islands. Meanwhile, China has historical rights in South China Sea. Chinese fishermen have always been doing normal fishing activities in waters related to Spratly Islands. It's legal and reasonable." NEWS CONFERENCE ONGOING EXTERIOR OF CHINA'S FOREIGN MINISTRY CHINESE NATIONAL FLAG FLYING
- Embargoed: 14th January 2020 11:46
- Keywords: Indonesia-China relation South China Sea tension
- Location: BEIJING, CHINA / JAKARTA, INDONESIA
- City: BEIJING, CHINA / JAKARTA, INDONESIA
- Country: China
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001BCB1E13
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Speaking in Beijing on Tuesday (December 31), Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China had sovereignty over the Spratly Islands and their waters and that both China and Indonesia have "normal" fishing activities there.
China's coastguard also carries out regular patrols there, he told a daily news briefing, without directly mentioning the islands.
Indonesia said on Monday (December 30) it had protested to Beijing over the presence of a Chinese coastguard vessel in its territorial waters near the disputed South China Sea, saying it marked a "violation of sovereignty".
The boat trespassed into Indonesia's exclusive economic zone off the coast of the northern islands of Natuna, Indonesia's foreign ministry said in a statement. It did not say when the incident occurred. Indonesia's foreign ministry reiterated its stance that the country is a non-claimant state in the South China Sea and that it has no overlapping jurisdiction with China.
(Production: Fang Nanlin) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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