Japan Should Fully Respect China's Interests, Concern Regarding Boat Sinking

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, December 26, 2001

Japan Should Fully Respect China's Interests, Concern Regarding Boat Sinking

Japan should fully respect China's interests and concerns in handling the December 22 incident involving Japanese patrol vessels which traded shots with an unidentified boat that later sank in the East China Sea.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue made the remarks Tuesday, saying that China is deeply concerned about this incident and has maintained close contact with the Japanese side on the matter.

She said that the borderlines of the special economic zones and continental shelf between China and Japan in the East China sea have not been drawn, yet the spot where the boat sank is in the Chinese exclusive economic zone.

China has paid great attention to the Japanese use of military force to hit an unidentified boat, she said.

China has asked Japan to provide more information about the event, she said.

Japan hopes to salvage sunken ship

Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said on Tuesday Japan might salvage the ship. Koizumi said that the salvage was "said to be technically possible."

"As the area is outside our territorial waters, we must closely study the circumstances and raise the boat if it is possible," he told reporters at his official residence.

Chikage Ogi, the minister of land, infrastructure and transport, told a news conference that it was necessary to salvage the boat to determine its nationality, the purpose of its activities and its hardware.

"We can't cope with future cases without knowing them," she said. "We may need approval from the Chinese side but we intend to salvage it."

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