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Sunday, 14 December 2008
Diaoyu Mission ‘Carefully Timed’
Beijing carefully planned a mission on Monday by two ships into contested territorial waters near the disputed Diaoyu Islands to declare sovereignty, according to a mainland publication.
Beijing carefully planned a mission on Monday by two ships into contested territorial waters near the disputed Diaoyu Islands to declare sovereignty, according to a mainland publication.
The revelation was a slight departure from a foreign ministry spokesman’s statement on Monday that the ships were “carrying out normal cruising activities that are beyond reproach”.
The International Herald Leader, published twice a week by Xinhua, ran a front-page story yesterday saying that the authorities had carefully timed the voyage so that the ships, “on an official mission to enforce the law”, could enter waters within 12 nautical miles [22km] of the islands - an “absolute forbidden zone” for Japan - without interference from the Japanese coastguard.
It was the first time that an official mainland vessel had gone so close to the islands. The report said the mission was a “landmark” achievement for the nation in safeguarding its maritime sovereignty.
The report also stressed that the two ships were on an inspection cruise carrying out law enforcement missions, and not simply survey vessels as suggested by Japanese media.
The Diaoyu Islands, which lie roughly midway between Okinawa and Taiwan, have been under Japanese control since China’s defeat in the 1895 Sino-Japanese war, but the mainland and Taiwan claim the islands are part of their territory.
The ships, belonging to the State Oceanic Administration, left from Ningbo and Shanghai, and officially entered the 12-nautical-mile zone to conduct the “sovereignty safeguarding” cruise at 8am on Monday. They left at 5pm.
The crews ignored a warning in Chinese from the Japan Coast Guard to leave the waters, the report said.
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso called the mission “an obvious intrusion” and Tokyo lodged a protest with Beijing about the “extremely regrettable” presence of the Chinese ships near the Diaoyu Islands. But, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao responded by saying the ships were just carrying out normal activities.
The International Herald Leader article cited an unnamed source as saying the vessels entered the waters at that time because it was during a Japanese coastguard shift changeover, and only three patrol ships were in the area. They could not stop the Chinese ships in time, the report said.
The source said Japan was not prepared for the entrance because patrols by Chinese ships in the East China Sea had become routine in recent years.
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Diaoyu Mission ‘Carefully Timed’
Zhuang Pinghui
13 December 2008
Beijing carefully planned a mission on Monday by two ships into contested territorial waters near the disputed Diaoyu Islands to declare sovereignty, according to a mainland publication.
The revelation was a slight departure from a foreign ministry spokesman’s statement on Monday that the ships were “carrying out normal cruising activities that are beyond reproach”.
The International Herald Leader, published twice a week by Xinhua, ran a front-page story yesterday saying that the authorities had carefully timed the voyage so that the ships, “on an official mission to enforce the law”, could enter waters within 12 nautical miles [22km] of the islands - an “absolute forbidden zone” for Japan - without interference from the Japanese coastguard.
It was the first time that an official mainland vessel had gone so close to the islands. The report said the mission was a “landmark” achievement for the nation in safeguarding its maritime sovereignty.
The report also stressed that the two ships were on an inspection cruise carrying out law enforcement missions, and not simply survey vessels as suggested by Japanese media.
The Diaoyu Islands, which lie roughly midway between Okinawa and Taiwan, have been under Japanese control since China’s defeat in the 1895 Sino-Japanese war, but the mainland and Taiwan claim the islands are part of their territory.
The ships, belonging to the State Oceanic Administration, left from Ningbo and Shanghai, and officially entered the 12-nautical-mile zone to conduct the “sovereignty safeguarding” cruise at 8am on Monday. They left at 5pm.
The crews ignored a warning in Chinese from the Japan Coast Guard to leave the waters, the report said.
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso called the mission “an obvious intrusion” and Tokyo lodged a protest with Beijing about the “extremely regrettable” presence of the Chinese ships near the Diaoyu Islands. But, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao responded by saying the ships were just carrying out normal activities.
The International Herald Leader article cited an unnamed source as saying the vessels entered the waters at that time because it was during a Japanese coastguard shift changeover, and only three patrol ships were in the area. They could not stop the Chinese ships in time, the report said.
The source said Japan was not prepared for the entrance because patrols by Chinese ships in the East China Sea had become routine in recent years.
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