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Naval patrols legitimate, says defense ministry spokesman
Source: Xinhua |
September 28, 2012, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINESE naval ships have been carrying out patrols and military training in waters off the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea recently, Yang Yujun, a defense ministry spokesman confirmed yesterday.
Yang was answering questions about reports in the Japanese media last week that two Chinese naval frigates had been navigating in waters off the islands.
Yang said the Diaoyu Islands had been an inseparable part of Chinese territory since ancient times and it was legitimate for Chinese naval ships to carry out patrols and training for military readiness in the waters under Chinese jurisdiction.
He said the Chinese military had the responsibility of safeguarding national territory and state sovereignty as well as its maritime rights and the safety of its people.
"Chinese troops perform a duty of military readiness to quickly react to maritime and airspace emergencies and closely work with the departments of maritime surveillance and fishery administration to provide security for the country's maritime law enforcement, fishery production as well as oil and gas development," he said.
Asked to comment on a call by some Japanese politicians that the Japanese Self-Defense Forces be upgraded to normal national defense forces, Yang pointed out that the war of aggression by Japanese militarists had brought severe disasters to Asian people.
"Japan should learn from history and strictly keep to a purely defensive policy to build trust with its neighboring countries and the international society," he said.
Yang also said that China's use of drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, over Huangyan Island, the Nansha Islands and their adjacent waters was "justified and legal," and said China was opposed to any military provocation in the South China Sea.
He was responding to comments by a Philippine Department of National Defense spokesman that Chinese drones may be shot at if they entered those islands' airspace.
China has indisputable sovereignty over Huangyan Island, the Nansha Islands and their adjacent waters, Yang said. "Therefore, Chinese aircraft flying in the airspace in question is justified and legal."
On Sunday, the State Oceanic Administration said that China would promote the use of drones to strengthen the nation's marine surveillance, and step up efforts to enhance its surveillance of islands including Diaoyu and Huangyan.
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