China slams Japan, Philippines over so-called maritime delimitation negotiations

BEIJING, June 25 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese defense spokesperson on Thursday slammed Japan and the Philippines for unilaterally launching so-called maritime delimitation negotiations while bypassing China. Such negotiations have seriously violated international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, as well as the basic norms governing international relations, and have gravely infringed upon China's maritime rights and interests, said Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense. Zhang made the remarks at a press conference in response to a query about earlier negotiations between Japan and the Philippines regarding their so-called exclusive economic zones, during which China conducted law enforcement operations in waters east of Taiwan Island, which the representative offices of the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany on the island claimed were escalating regional tensions. The maritime area that Japan and the Philippines have proclaimed as the subject of their proposed boundary delimitation lies to the east of China's Taiwan Island, and China has its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf in the waters concerned, said Zhang. China's law enforcement patrols in the relevant waters were lawful, justified and necessary, and constituted a legitimate measure to safeguard the country's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, according to the spokesperson. The yardstick for judging right and wrong is not who speaks the loudest. In this matter, it is Japan and the Philippines that have engaged in infringement and provocation, and rallying allies to exert pressure on China will not work, Zhang said.