China summons G7 envoys over South, East China Seas statementApril 13, 2016 - 17:23 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - China's foreign ministry said on Wednesday, April 13 it has summoned in envoys from the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies to complain about a statement their foreign ministers issued this week opposing provocation in the East and South China Seas, Reuters reports. China claims almost the entire South China Sea, believed to have huge deposits of oil and gas, and is building islands on reefs to bolster its claims. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims to parts of the waters, through which about $5 trillion in trade is shipped every year. China also has a separate dispute with Japan over a group of uninhabited islets in the East China Sea. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a daily news briefing that it had thought the G7 foreign ministers' meeting in the Japanese city of Hiroshima wouldn't really have anything to do with China. Once the statement came out, China decided there were certain "incorrect and mistaken" parts in it, Lu said, so China had to make its position clear. "So yes we called in envoys from the relevant countries, solemnly expressing China's position on this matter," he added. China informed the envoys of exactly what it had said in public on the issue, Lu said. The Foreign Ministry on Tuesday expressed anger at the G7 statement, saying the grouping should not taking sides on issues involving territorial disputes. The G7 is composed of the United States, France, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Japan. G7 leaders will meet again in Japan for their summit next month. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. CSTO: Armenia has not participated in secretariat’s work recently Recently Armenia has not participated in the work of the secretariat of the CSTO, Imangali Tasmagambetov said. Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. |