China says ship passage through Japan territorial waters "legitimate"

China justified the entry of its navy survey ship into Japan's territorial waters off its southwestern islands over the weekend, saying Monday that the passage was "completely legitimate" and that the vessel was simply exercising its right of transit.Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a press conference the sea area is used "for international navigation" according to the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.Earlier in the day, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Tokyo has lodged a protest with Beijing over the incident Saturday and vowed that Japan will m…READ FULL ARTICLE