TOKYO, 08 JULY 2024 (THE JAPAN TIMES) — The Japanese government has criticized China for installing a buoy in the high seas over Japan’s continental shelf in the Pacific Ocean without adequate explanation.
“It is regrettable that a buoy was placed without providing details of its purpose,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a news conference Friday, referring to the object set up by a Chinese marine research vessel in the waters north of Okinotorishima, Japan’s southernmost island.
Japan will continue to collect and analyse information, he added.
Chinese buoys have been observed near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which are controlled by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing. It is unusual for a Chinese buoy to be set up on the Pacific side of Japan.
Hayashi said Japan has expressed concerns and suspicions about China’s maritime activities and asked Beijing to explain the purpose of the buoy immediately.
The Chinese side responded that the buoy is for tsunami observation and not intended to violate Japan’s sovereign rights over its continental shelf, he said.
The buoy was installed in the Shikoku Basin region, believed to be rich in undersea mineral resources including minor metals.
While Japan has the right to develop the seabed resources there in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, any country can conduct surveys in the waters above it, and U.S buoys are also present in the area.
2There is a difference between the relationship of trust with the United States, which is transparent, and that with China,” a senior Foreign Ministry official said.
According to Hayashi, Tokyo had been closely monitoring the Chinese marine research vessel since it was sailing in Japan’s exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea.
Tokyo called on Beijing not to infringe Japan’s maritime rights and interests and asked for consideration to ensure freedom of navigation.
The Japanese government confirmed a Chinese buoy inside its EEZ near the Senkaku Islands last July. China has not responded to Japan’s demands, including one made at a summit meeting, for the buoy’s immediate removal.
In China, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning rebuffed Japan’s criticism over the buoy at a news conference Friday, saying that Japan had no right to interfere in the matter.
Mao also said that the buoy was for scientific research and public-interest purposes and that its installation was an internationally accepted act as the high seas are open to all countries…. PACNEWS