Meanwhile, a Chineseship that drew international condemnation for attempting to deliver weapons to Zimbabwe amid the country's political crisis is returning home without offloading its cargo, officials in Beijing said Thursday.
The State Oceanic Administration accuses Japan's Weekly Post of "sheer nonsense and malicious speculation" following its expose on a Chinese government ship allegedly aiming a machine gun at a Japanese fishing boat near disputed East China Sea islands on 18 February, People's Daily reports.