Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga. (Photo: kyodonews.net)

He made the statement when asked to comment on China’s launch of anti-ship ballistic missiles into the East Sea on August 26.

Japan has been watching China’s recent moves in the East Sea with concern, he said, adding that issues in the waters are directly related to regional peace and security, which are legitimate interests of the international community, including Japan.

On August 26, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang answered reporters’ questions about Vietnam’s response to China’s conduct of military exercises in seas to the north-northeast of Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago.

She made it clear that China holding military drills in the Hoang Sa region violated Vietnam’s sovereignty over the archipelago and ran counter to the spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and also complicated the situation, which is unfavourable for ongoing negotiations between China and ASEAN on a Code of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (COC) and the maintenance of a peaceful, stable, and cooperative environment in the East Sea.

“Vietnam demands that China respect Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa archipelago, stop and not repeat such violations,” Hang said./.VNA