Foreign and Military Affairs
China urges unconditional release of skipper, again
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-09-22 22:24
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"It is futile to play tricks by deceiving the world and international public opinion," said Jiang in a written statement.
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Jiang said the Diaoyu Islands have been China's inherent territory since ancient times.
"It is a severe violation and flagrant challenge of China's territorial sovereignty for Japan to illegally detain Chinese fishermen and ships in waters off the Diaoyu Islands and insist on performing a so-called domestic judicial process involving the Chinese captain," she said.
Japan's move has aroused strong indignation among the Chinese people and severely undermined bilateral ties with China, she added.
"It is all too natural for China to make a necessary response," she said, "Japan's sophistry is untenable."
By illegally detaining Chinese fishermen and their ship and then taking escalating actions, Japan has severely violated the principles of resolving problems through dialogue and consultations as laid down in the fourth China-Japan political document as well as the spirit of the China-Japan strategic relationship of mutual benefits.
"If Japan really values bilateral ties, it should immediately correct its mistake and unconditionally let the captain return to avoid further damaging relations," she said.
On September 7, two Japan Coast Guard patrol ships and a Chinese trawler collided off China's Diaoyu Islands. On the following day, the Japan Coast Guard illegally seized the Chinese trawler and illegally detained the trawler's captain and 14 fishermen on board, drawing strong protests from the Chinese government and people.
The fishermen were released last week, but the captain is still being illegally held by Japanese authorities. Despite China's repeated call for the immediate release of the captain, a Japanese court on Sunday authorized prosecutors to extend the illegal detention of the Chinese citizen by 10 days to September 29.
