|
Japanese minister links sub intrusion with China's gas project
A Japanese trade minister has linked the recent intrusion of a suspected Chinese nuclear submarine into Japanese waters with China's natural gas exploration near islands disputed by the two countries. "I cannot help but think that they are related," Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Shoichi Nakagawa said in a news show on Fuji TV network. He added that he took it "as a matter of course" that Chinese submarines had been intruding into Japanese territorial waters for some time. The Tokyo government has said that a nuclear submarine violated its waters for two hours last Wednesday. After a two-day chase on the high seas in the East China Sea, it declared that the vessel belonged to the Chinese navy and demanded an apology from Beijing. The Chinese government has only said it was investigating the Japanese claims.Posted by: Mark Espinola 2004-11-14 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=48751 |