Tokyo [Japan], November 24 : China has told Japan it intends to remove a buoy it installed inside Japan's exclusive economic zone near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, local media said citing diplomatic sources.
The buoy was discovered in July near Okinotorishima, a remote atoll which lies 1,730 km south of Tokyo and is among the southernmost feature claimed by Japan. Though China and others have argued that the coral reef does not qualify as an island under UN definitions, Japan insists it can use the outpost to extend its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Okinotorishima is strategically positioned in the Philippine Sea approximately 875 nautical miles southwest of Tokyo.
The Japanese government has repeatedly called for the removal since the buoy's presence was confirmed in July near the uninhabited, Tokyo-controlled, Beijing-claimed islets, Kyodo news reported.
According to the sources, as per the Japanese news outlet, 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.
Officials from both countries during high-level consultations on maritime affairs in Tokyo in October, Kyodo reported.
The Japanese news agency reported that 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.
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.