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发帖数: 542 | 1 China has submitted to the UN a detailed explanation of its claims to a
disputed area of the East China Sea.
It argues that certain geological features prove its territory extends out
to a group of islands near Japan.
A UN commission of geological experts will examine China's submission but
does not have the authority to resolve conflicting claims.
Beijing and Tokyo have long laid claim to the islands, known as Senkaku in
Japan and Diaoyu in China.
Tensions flared up again in September after the Japanese government bought
three of the islands from their private Japanese owner, triggering public
protests in some Chinese cities.
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Japan-China disputed islands
The archipelago consists of five islands and three reefs
Japan, China and Taiwan claim them; they are controlled by Japan and
form part of Okinawa prefecture
Japanese businessman Kunioki Kurihara owned three of the islands but
sold them to the Japanese state in September
The islands were also the focus of a major diplomatic row between Japan
and China in 2010
Q&A: China-Japan islands row
Since then Chinese ships have been sailing in and out of waters around the
islands, prompting warnings from Japan.
There was another diplomatic spat on Thursday after a Chinese government
plane flew near the disputed islands.
Tokyo responded by scrambling fighter jets. Both countries accused the other
of violating their air space.
In its submission to the UN, China argues: "Physiognomy and geological
characteristics show that the continental shelf in the East China Sea is the
natural prolongation of China's land territory.
"The natural prolongation of the continental shelf of China in the East
China Sea extends to the Okinawa Trough, which is an important geographical
unit featuring remarkable partition," Xinhua news agency reports the
document as saying.
The islands lie some 200km (124 miles) off Japan's Okinawa island and beyond
China's 200 nautical mile (370km) exclusive economic zone. They form part
of Okinawa prefecture and are controlled by Japan.
Taiwan also lays claim to the islands, which are close to strategically
important shipping lanes. The waters around the islands offer rich fishing
grounds and are thought to contain oil deposits. |
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