Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan said Wednesday that China's interests in and jurisdiction over Chinese exclusive economic zone should be fully respected.

In December last year, a Japanese vessel chased an unidentified boat into the Chinese exclusive economic zone and sank the boat in the East China Sea. The Chinese government expressed strong opposition to the issue, Tang told a press conference of the Fifth Session of the Ninth National People's Congress in replying to a Japanese reporter's question on the issue.

Tang stressed that the Chinese side would fully safeguard interests in and jurisdiction over the Chinese exclusive economic zone in accordance with relevant laws.

The press conference lasted 65 minutes with some 600 reporters attending.

(Xinhua News Agency March 6, 2002)