Japanese spokesperson bombarded with questions doubting Japan's role on S. China Sea issue

A spokesperson of the Japanese foreign ministry was bombarded with questions on Japan's role in the South China Sea disputes between China and Philippines and avoided any direct answers to these questions at a press briefing on Friday.

Yasuhisa Kawamura, spokesperson of the Japanese foreign ministry, held a press briefing, attended by journalists from Xinhua, Reuters, Bloomberg, AFP, Montsame and some Japanese media Friday night on the sideline of the 11th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit in Ulan Bator.

During the Q&A session, he appeared uneasy with the questions related to the South China Sea issue.

A Bloomberg journalist asked "in these meetings, what was said about the allegation that Japan manipulated The Hague's ruling on the South China sea," referring to the meetings between Chinese and Japanese leaders.

The Japanese spokesperson shun the questions by saying "your question is unrelated to today's meeting."

Reuters journalist asked "if Japan is pushing to have the South China Sea mentioned in the closing remarks of the communique and was that discussed with China?"

A Xinhua journalist asked the spokesperson to comment on remarks by the United Nations on its official microblog that it has nothing to do with the arbitration tribunal that handled the South China Sea disputes. The spokesperson said "I need to clarify on this," but did not answer the question.

An ad hoc tribunal, set up at the unilateral request of the former Philippine government, on Tuesday issued an ill-founded award sweepingly siding with Manila, denying China's long-standing historic rights in the South China Sea.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Friday during a meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Shinzo Abe that Tokyo should stop hyping up and interfering in the South China Sea issue, urging the two countries to properly manage their differences.

Li said that China's stance on the South China Sea issue is completely in line with international law and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.

Japan is not a state directly involved in the South China Sea issue, and thus should "exercise caution in its own words and deeds, and stop hyping up and interfering in" the issue, he said. Endi