China has a right to sail ships near the Natuna Islands, a foreign ministry spokesman said Thursday, as Beijing hardened its stance in a diplomatic spat after Indonesia protested about dozens of Chinese boats, including two coast guard ships, entering its Exclusive Economic Zone late last month.
When a reporter asked him about an Indonesian government statement a day earlier saying there was “no legal basis” to Beijing’s claims that its ships could sail in Indonesia’s exclusive zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang rejected that assertion.
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