China demands end of US Navy surveillance off country's southern coast

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
China's Defense Ministry has demanded that the US Navy end surveillance missions off the country's southern coast following a weekend confrontation between an American vessel and Chinese ships. In its first public comment on the Sunday episode, the ministry repeated earlier statements from the Foreign Ministry that the unarmed US ship was operating illegally inside China's exclusive economic zone when it was challenged by three Chinese government ships and two Chinese-flagged trawlers. "The Chinese side's carrying out of routine enforcement and safeguarding measures within its exclusive economic zone was entirely appropriate and legal," ministry spokesman Huang Xueping said in a statement faxed overnight to reporters. "We demand the United States respect our legal interests and security concerns, and take effective measures to prevent a recurrence of such incidents," Huang said.