东京：日本海上保安厅6日（10月6日）表示，一艘中国调查船在多次被下令停止日本认为是未经授权的研究作业后，已离开东京的专属经济区。
TOKYO: The Japanese coast guard said on Tuesday (Oct 6) a Chinese survey ship had left Tokyo's exclusive economic zone after being ordered repeatedly to stop research operations that Japan said were unauthorised.
日本海上保安厅发言人浅野正志告诉法新社称，中国舰艇“科学”号最早于9月27日出现在冲绳县石垣岛以北约70公里的海域，“时断时续地从舰侧和舰尾伸出类似电线的物体进入海中”。
The Chinese vessel Kexue was first seen on Sep 27 in waters around 70km north of Ishigaki island in Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, "intermittently extending wire-like objects into the sea from her side and stern", coast guard spokesman Masashi Asano told AFP.
浅野表示，该舰最终于上周五离开后，日本海上保安厅曾发送“无线信息要求停止调查，声明未经...同意在我国海域进行科学研究将不被容忍”。
The vessel eventually left on Friday after the coast guard sent "radio messages demanding the survey be halted, stating that scientific research in our maritime zone without ... consent will not be tolerated", Asano said.
他表示，中国舰艇在日本专属经济区进行未获批准的调查的次数，已比去年增加了一倍多。
The number of unapproved surveys by Chinese ships in Japan's EEZ has already more than doubled compared to last year, he said.
《联合国海洋法公约》规定，专属经济区（EEZ，即从一个国家的陆地向外约370公里的海域）内的科学研究，需要获得拥有该区域探索和利用自然资源专属权的国家的同意。
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea stipulates that scientific research in an EEZ - an area of up to 370km offshore from a country's land - requires an agreement from the nation that holds exclusive rights to the exploration and use of natural resources.
浅野表示，自日本和菲律宾宣布将开始海上边界谈判以来，日本专属经济区内未获批准的调查活动“激增”。
Asano said the frequency of unapproved surveys in Japan's EEZ had "surged" since around the time Japan and the Philippines announced they would start maritime border negotiations.
他表示，今年为止已发生14起此类事件，去年为6起，此前三年则为1至2起。
There have been 14 cases so far this year, compared to six last year, and one or two cases in the three years prior, he said.
据联合声明，日本首相丰泽荣二郎和菲律宾马克宾总统于5月28日同意开始正式谈判“划定两国专属经济区和大陆架的海上边界……以增强该地区的法律确定性”。
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Ferdinand Marcos agreed on May 28 to start formal negotiations to "delimit the maritime boundary of the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf between the two countries ... in order to enhance legal certainty in the region", according to a joint statement.
北京声称南中国海的大部分区域，尽管这一地区是全球重要的贸易航线，且国际裁决认为其主张缺乏法律依据。其海上保安船多次与菲律宾发生冲突，引发对武装冲突的担忧。
Beijing claims most of the South China Sea, a vital global trade route, despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis. Its coast guard has clashed repeatedly with that of the Philippines sparking fears of an armed conflict.
此外，日本和中国的海警船经常在东海东京管辖的尖阁诸岛（北京称其为钓鱼岛）附近发生对峙。
Separately, coast guard vessels from both Japan and China routinely engage in standoffs around the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku islands in the East China Sea, islands that Beijing claims and calls the Diaoyu.
高市早苗周一在政策演说中称中国为“重要邻国”，并承诺与这个竞争对手国家建立稳定关系。
Takaichi called China an "important neighbour" in a policy address on Monday and pledged to build a stable relationship between the rival nations.
自高市早苗11月暗示东京可能会介入任何对台湾的袭击以来，这两个亚洲经济大国的外交关系已降至冰点，而北京声称台湾是其领土。
Diplomatic relations between the Asian economic giants have been at rock bottom since Takaichi suggested in November that Tokyo might intervene in any attack on Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory.