Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian hosted a regular press conference on May 31.
A reporter asked: According to reports, in response to Japan's application to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf to extend the continental shelf south of Okinotori Reef, there have been a number of recent papers in China that deny Japan's claims.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroichi Matsuno said at a press conference on the 30th that the Japanese government has learned that China has recently published a number of scientific papers denying Japan's claims, but Japan will not respond to them one by one.
What is China's comment?
Zhao Lijian said that, as we all know, the surface area of Okinotori Reef exposed to the water surface at high tide is less than 10 square meters, but the Japanese side, for its own sake, illegally claimed nearly 700,000 square kilometers of jurisdictional sea area with Danwan Reef, eroding the high seas and the international seabed area. harm the overall interests of the international community.
According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Okinotori is a reef, not an island, and cannot have an exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.
Japan violates international law by claiming its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.
(produced by Le Xiaomin)
Responsible editor: [Lu Yan]