China has removed its last buoy from Japanese economic waters, a Japan Coast Guard spokesman said yesterday, in what might be a move by Beijing to improve ties.
Japan in December last year said that it had spotted a new buoy in its exclusive economic zone south of Yonaguni Island, near Taiwan, and demanded that China remove it immediately.
The Japan Coast Guard issued a statement late on Wednesday saying that the buoy was no longer in place.
Photo: AP
A spokesman yesterday told reporters that it means all Chinese buoys in Japanese economic waters have been removed.
Japanese media said this could signal an intention by Beijing to improve ties with Tokyo, as China faces political and economic pressure from US President Donald Trump’s government.
“I decline to speculate on China’s intentions,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters when asked about the removal of the buoy.
Beijing had in July 2023 installed another buoy within the nation’s exclusive economic zone — near the Diaoyutais (釣魚台), a group of islets that Japan controls and calls the Senkakus, but are also claimed by Taiwan and China.
In February, China moved that buoy out of Japan’s zone, the coast guard spokesman said.
Separately, The Philippine Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said that China has no right to object to or interfere with its lawful and routine activities in the South China Sea.
The ministry said that it also “rejects and refutes” statements by the Chinese embassy in Manila that Beijing has indisputable sovereignty over the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島).
Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and China between them have claims and a presence on dozens of features in the Spratly archipelago, ranging from reefs and rocks to islands, natural and artificial.
“We urge China to respect the Philippines’ sovereignty and jurisdiction, even as we continue to pursue peaceful and legal means to manage differences and the situation at sea,” ministry spokeswoman Teresita Daza said in a statement.
“The Philippines is clearly within its rights to conduct routine maritime operations and scientific research in and around these features, and will continue to do so,” Daza said.
“China has no right to object much less interfere with these lawful and routine activities,” she added.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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