News China set up buoy over Japan's southern continental shelf

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said the buoy, which is to monitor tsunami, was set up in the high seas "for the purposes of scientific research and serving public good" and doing so is "a well-established international practice" based on the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. "Japan has no right to interfere in such activities," she told a press conference in Beijing. Last July, China installed another buoy inside Japan's EEZ near the Tokyo-controlled, Beijing-claimed uninhabited Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, prompting Japan to lodge a protest and demand its immediate removal. Mao said that as the islands, which Beijing calls Diaoyu, are part of China's territory and its surrounding waters are under the country's jurisdiction, it is "legitimate and lawful for China to set up hydrological and meteorological data buoys in those areas."

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According to the sources, China told Japan through diplomatic channels in the summer that it would remove the buoy, with Japan welcoming the move and closely monitoring the situation to make sure Beijing follows through. The topic was also discussed by officials from both countries during high-level consultations on maritime affairs in Tokyo in October. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has said the buoy was installed to monitor ocean currents and weather. Some observers said the data including water temperature has been collected and used by the Chinese military. It appears China has determined that moving the buoy to the Chinese side of the EEZ's median line would not make much difference to the data obtained, the sources said. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba met with Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time in Peru last week, where he expressed serious concerns about the situation in the East China Sea and the increased activity by the Chinese military.

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China has removed a buoy it placed near the Japan-administered Senkaku Islands in July 2023, the two governments revealed Tuesday, a possible reflection of improving relations. The Japan Coast Guard announced in a navigation notice on its website that the buoy northeast of Taiwan has disappeared. "Northeast of Taiwan" refers to the area around the Senkakus, a Japanese government official said. The buoy had been placed within Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ). [...] China has placed a number of buoys in the waters around the Senkakus, which it claims as the Diaoyu, looking to bolster its territorial claim. Tokyo has long protested to Beijing through diplomatic channels and demanded their removal. Bilateral relations are improving. In November, China resumed exemptions for short-term stay visas for Japanese nationals. Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya visited China in December and announced the easing of visa issuance for Chinese nationals. China's removal of the buoy could extend the trend. Tokyo and Beijing also are discussing other issues, such as lifting China's ban on imports of Japanese fishery products.

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