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| Okinotori Atoll (Image: Wiki Commons) |
BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- China said on Thursday that Tokyo's illegal "island" claims encroach on the high seas and the interests of the international community as a whole.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said it is illegal for Japan to claim areas around the Okinotori Atoll as its continental shelf or exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Lu made the remarks in response to reports that during the G7 summit in Japan later this month participants will discuss maritime order based on international law, and Japan recently reiterated that it classed Okinotori as an island, not a collection of rocks.
Lu explained that the atoll, some 1,700 km south of Tokyo, was a group of rocks in the western Pacific Ocean, and less than 10 square meters of the rocks are above sea level at high tide.
Read the full story at Xinhua