CCTV9英语新闻：China slams Japan's request for continental shelf

The Chinese Foreign Ministry says Japan's request to claim the continental shelf and sea bed over the Okinotori reef is unreasonable and goes against international law. Spokesman Lu Kang made the remarks during a press conference this afternoon.

 

"Okinotori is a reef that is located in the west Pacific, far from Japan's mainland. Japan is using this to claim an exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. It's unreasonable and against the pertinent regulations of the UN convention on the Law of the Sea. In April, 2012, UN's Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf already rejected Japan's attempt to claim the outer continental shelf using Okinotori reef," 

 

"It's known that Okinotori's area above sea level during high tide is less than 10 square meters. It's often described as big as two beds. But now Japan is using these "two beds" to claim more than 700 thousand square kilometers of waters, to occupy high seas and international sea-bed area. It's damaging the common interests of the international community," said Lu.