BEIJING/TOKYO – China on Tuesday claimed that its weekend live-fire drill was conducted on the high seas in the Pacific and was in line with international law, rejecting Japan’s assertion that the area southwest of a small remote Japanese island was within its exclusive economic zone.
At a press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian reiterated Beijing’s stance that what Japan calls Okinotori Island is “a rock rather than an island” under the definition of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, and thus “unfit to claim EEZ.”
“Japan’s claim of an EEZ around the Okinotori violates international law. China’s activities in the high seas are fully consistent with international law and international practice,” he added.
According to the Japanese Defense Ministry, a Chinese navy guided-missile destroyer held a firing drill involving a machine gun on Sunday about 180 kilometers southwest of Okinotori, Japan’s southernmost island. It is the first time to confirm and make public such activities in the EEZ by a Chinese warship, the ministry said.
The vessel was part of a total of four Chinese and Russian warships seen sailing about 330 km southwest of Okinotori earlier that day, at around 2 a.m.
The three Chinese vessels, including the destroyer that engaged in the firing drill, and one Russian frigate then headed northward from Okinotori and were spotted sailing 220 km east of Iwoto Island on Tuesday, the Japanese ministry said.
Tokyo has conveyed to Beijing through diplomatic channels its concern that conducting live-fire drills could endanger vessels navigating in nearby waters, according to the ministry.
International law allows military activities in EEZs of other nations. China and Russia have been closely coordinating on the military front, including through joint bomber flights over waters around Japan.