China says U.S. Navy vessel was operating illegally

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BEIJING, March 10 Kyodo -
China said Tuesday that a U.S. Navy vessel which was involved in a
confrontation with Chinese ships over the weekend was operating illegally.
In Beijing's first comments on the latest problem between the two militaries,
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu also said that China has lodged a
protest against the United States and is demanding that it stop activities in
the area.
The U.S. vessel ''was operating in China's exclusive economic zone in the South
China Sea, in violation of the relevant international and Chinese laws and
without Chinese permission,'' Ma told a regular press conference.
''China has already made a severe representation against the United States. We
demand that the U.S. immediately halt relevant activities and take steps to
prevent similar incidents from taking place,'' he said.
The U.S. Defense Department said on Monday a Chinese intelligence ship and four
others surrounded the USNS Impeccable in an apparent effort to harass the crew.
The U.S. State Department said Washington has officially protested to China
over the incident.
The friction comes after the United States and China resumed high-level
military dialogue last month, following a stall due to China's anger over a
U.S. announcement to sell weapons to Taiwan.
Beijing views Taipei as a renegade province that needs to be reunified with the
motherland, by force if necessary. China opposes U.S. military support for
Taiwan.
==Kyodo
2009-03-10 20:41:21