Law of the Sea - East China Sea

The Japanese coastguard arrested two Chinese trawler captains for illegally operating in an exclusive economic zone midway up the west coast of Honshu. Later, the two captains were released after admitting to engaging in "trawling activities" inside Japan's EEZ.

Law of the Sea

The International Seabed Authority (ISA) approved China's plan to look for polymetallic sulphide deposits in a 10,000 square kilometre area of seabed in the Indian Ocean for 15 years, the second plot of seabed for which China has won the right to explore from the ISA. An official from China Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Associated, in whose name China made the bid, said "the refined metals from these deposits will help China meet our increasing demand for resources". But India reportedly expressed concerns over the military implications of the Chinese project.

Terrorism

In the wake of two terrorist attacks in Kashgar, the local authorities revealed that "[t]he heads of the attackers had earlier fled to Pakistan and learned skills of making explosives and firearms in camps of the terrorist group East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) before infiltrating back to Xinjiang". In response, Pakistan’s government pledged full cooperation with China against the East Turkestan group.