China placed buoys near isles to monitor ocean conditions: Foreign Ministry
Iran Press TV
Tue Feb 26, 2013 3:5PM GMT
China has placed buoys near a group of disputed Islands in the East China Sea to observe ocean conditions, Chinese Foreign Ministry says.
On Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying issued a statement saying that her country has positioned the buoys near the disputed islands in order to carry out "maritime weather observations."
“I think it does not deserve to be disputed or played up,” she added.
This comes after Japanese officials earlier asked China to explain the purpose behind placing the buoys near the disputed islands - known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China - based on certain geological features.
Tokyo and Beijing have long been at loggerheads over the sovereignty of the islands, which would give the owner exclusive oil, mineral and fishing rights in the surrounding waters. The islands are controlled by Japan and form part of Okinawa prefecture.
China’s National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation announced on January 15, 2013 that China is set to carry out a detailed survey on the disputed isles “to safeguard its maritime rights and interests” and to map the country’s “territorial islands and reefs.”
China presented the United Nations with a detailed explanation of its sovereignty over the disputed islands based on certain geological features in December 2012.
Tensions heightened between the two countries after Japan signed a deal on September 11, 2012 to buy three of the islands from their private Japanese owner in line with plans to nationalize the archipelago. Hundreds of Chinese held several anti-Japan demonstrations following the Japanese move.
MAM/PKH
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