China Thursday said it knew nothing about a submarine that entered Japanese waters near a disputed gas field and sparked a high seas chase."We don't know. We are not aware of this situation,"
(Ok, whatever you say...sure)
the foreign ministry said in China's first response to the incident that has come amid mounting disputes between the two countries. The submarine was detected early Wednesday in Japanese waters near islands disputed with China about 300 kilometers SW of Okinawa. Judging from its cruising sound, the Defence Agency believed the vessel to be a Chinese navy Han-type nuclear submarine, Japan's mass-circulation Yomiuri Shimbun and Jiji Press news agency said.| "And we have reason to believe that Sean Connery is driving it." |
The Japanese navy has been trailing the submarine with two destroyers and a surveillance airplane, a defence agency spokesman said. The incident comes amid a series of disputes between Japan and China, including friction over the right to explore for gas near their maritime border in the East China Sea. Only this week, China accused Japan of a "Cold War mentality" after Japanese reports about alleged Chinese plans to attack Japan. The reports said this could be triggered by disputes over Taiwan or energy resources.
"We are opposed to the instigation and playing up of the China threat," the foreign ministry said on Tuesday. "Relevant parties should discard their Cold War mentality and safeguard measures to promote peace and development in the Asian Pacific region and the world at large." | "C'mon, man. MoveOn already..." |
While the Xinhua news agency Wednesday ran a brief report from Tokyo about the unidentified submarine, it has filed nothing since and the story failed to appear in any of China's major state-run media Thursday. |