Hawaii (US), Aug 16 (IANS) China concocted a false legal premise to support arbitrary claims on waters it never controlled, portraying a routine naval passing exercise as a joint operation in waters under its jurisdiction, a report said.
The exercise in question occurred in international waters where foreign navies have legal authority to train and operate, the Indo-Pacific Defence Forum report noted.
"After its completion, Beijing maintained the naval exercise took place in 'China’s sovereign EEZ (exclusive economic zone)', an assertion refuted by facts entailed in international law. China also falsely implied that Jakarta supported Beijing’s expansive territorial claim," it said.
Taipei also condemned the characterisation, saying it is political manipulation to create an incorrect impression that China controls waters east of Taiwan.
Indonesia refuted any assertion that it supported China’s declaration on the waters, while acknowledging that a freight ship participated in the passing exercise on its way back to the country after completing an exercise in Vladivostok with the Russian Navy.
"Passing exercises are common goodwill engagements conducted by navies worldwide as a manifestation of naval camaraderie and maritime diplomacy inherent in warship operations," the Indonesian Navy's First Admiral Tunggul said, the Antara news agency reported.
The report from the Defence Forum noted that Beijing claims Taiwan is part of China and is within Beijing’s EEZ, a 200-nautical mile seaward extension of a nation’s territory that gives it exclusive rights to resources such as fish, fossil fuels and minerals, but leaves it open to navigation and military exercises by foreign vessels. According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), a nation’s EEZ does not delineate the area as “sovereign” territory.
"The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attempted to back its misleading assertion with a mix of lies and distorted legal interpretations. Beijing never has controlled the waters in question and concocted a false legal premise to support its arbitrary claim," the report emphasised.
--IANS
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