- Title: At APEC, Tokya asserts sovereignty over East China Sea islets
- Date: 20th November 2016
- Summary: LIMA, PERU (NOVEMBER 20, 2016) (REUTERS) WIDE OF NEWSER WITH SPOKESMAN FOR JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER, YASUHISA KAWAMURA (SOUNDBITE) (English) SPOKESMAN FOR JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER, YASUHISA KAWAMURA, SAYING: "I guess you mean the Senkaku islands in the East China Sea, which is in between the two countries. The Senkaku islands historically and legally speaking, is Japanese territory, there's no question about it. The Japanese government's position is that there's no dispute over the sovereignty of those islands. Getting back to today's meeting between our prime minister and president of China, they agree to take continuous efforts to improve their relations, taking advantage of the coming two years' anniversaries. So we will continue to work on so that the area will be calmer, and enjoy the stability and prosperity. Getting back to the meeting which took place in Hangzhou last September, Prime Minister Abe made very clear on this position, regarding on the development in the East China Sea. And President Xi responded that the area should be peaceful. And that Japan and China should make efforts so that there is more cooperation than confrontations." KAWAMURA LEAVING LECTERN
- Embargoed: 5th December 2016 23:40
- Keywords: East China Sea Senkaku Shinzo Abe Xi Jinping Yasuhisa Kawamura
- Location: LIMA, PERU
- City: LIMA, PERU
- Country: Peru
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0015991SNB
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The press secretary for Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, spoke out on Tokyo's historical dispute with Beijing over a batch East China Sea islets, and underscored the island nation's sovereignty.
China and Japan have long been mired in a territorial dispute over a group of tiny, uninhabited East China Sea islands, called the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.
In the six months ending in September, Japanese fighters scrambled to chase Chinese planes 407 times compared with 231 times in the same period last year, the Japanese Air Self-Defence Force said in mid-October, an increase of about three-quarters.
Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said Chinese air force activities accorded with international law and norms, and that it was Japan which was increasing its monitoring and interfering in normal training exercises.
Japan worries that as China increases its control over the South China Sea, it is turning its attention to expanding its influence in the East China Sea and into the western Pacific.
"I guess you mean the Senkaku islands in the East China Sea, which is in between the two countries. The Senkaku islands historically and legally speaking, is Japanese territory, there's no question about it. The Japanese government's position is that there's no dispute over the sovereignty of those islands. Getting back to today's meeting between our prime minister and president of China, they agree to take continuous efforts to improve their relations, taking advantage of the coming two years' anniversaries. So we will continue to work on so that the area will be calmer, and enjoy the stability and prosperity. Getting back to the meeting which took place in Hangzhou last September, Prime Minister Abe made very clear on this position, regarding on the development in the East China Sea. And President Xi responded that the area should be peaceful. And that Japan and China should make efforts so that there is more cooperation than confrontations," said spokesman Yasuhisa Kawamura.
China insists regular patrols in the region are its right and intended to protect national security and sovereignty.
The United States, its Southeast Asian allies and Japan have questioned Chinese land reclamation on contested islands in the South China Sea, particularly since an international court rejected China's historic claims to most of that sea last month.
China has refused to recognize the court ruling on a case brought by the Philippines. Japan called on China to adhere to it, saying it was binding, but Beijing responded by warning Japan not to interfere. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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