Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said Monday that the video showing the collision between a Chinese trawler and Japanese patrol boats, near the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea, changed nothing.
Ma made the remarks when commenting on the video shown to the Japanese Diet. He said the Diaoyu Islands have been an integral part of the Chinese territory since ancient times.
"The fact that the Japanese patrol boats had disturbed, driven away, intercepted, surrounded and held the Chinese fishing boat was illegal in itself and severely infringed on China's sovereignty and Chinese fishermen's rights and interests," Ma said.
"The so-called video cannot change the fact and cannot cover the unlawfulness of the Japanese action," he added.