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Japanese Destroyer Sinks Fishing Ship over International Water. A Japanese destroyer has chased and sunk a fishing ship over international water Saturday afternoon. The fishing ship sank about 400 kilometres (248 miles) north-west of Amamioshima island after Japanese coastguards opened fire, the first time in 48 years against foreign ships. The nationality of the fishing ship is still unkown. Japanese Destroyer Sinks Fishing Ship over International Water An unidentified ship being pursued by the Japan Coast Guard in the East China Sea for infringing in Japan's exclusive economic zone sank Saturday night after being fired on by two coast guard patrol vessels, Kyodo News reported. After a final shoot-out between coast guard officials and the ship's crew, the 100-ton vessel foundered at 10:13 p.m. local time some 390 kilometers west-northwest of the Kagoshima Prefecture, throwing about 15 crew members into the sea, the report said. Two Japanese coast guard members aboard the patrol vessel Amami were injured in the shoot-out, it said. On Sunday, the Japan Coast Guard recovered two bodies believed to be those of crew members of the ship. The red life jacket on one of the bodies bore Korean characters, coast guard officials said. **** China Supports Lebanon's Efforts to Reclaim Occupied Lands. Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan reiterated on Saturday in Beirut that China's firm and strong support for Lebanon's efforts to reclaim occupied lands. Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan reiterated on Saturday in Beirut that China's firm and strong support for Lebanon's efforts to reclaim occupied lands. "I want to make it clear that China stands behind all Arab countries, including Lebanon, and supports their just requirement to get back occupied lands," Tang said at a press conference after meeting with his Lebanese counterpart Mahmoud Hammoud. The two sides talked about the current situation in the Middle East and the bilateral ties, said Tang, terming his visit to Lebanon "successful." He also stressed that China is against all kinds of terrorism and rejects linking terrorism with a certain religion, region or nation. The Chinese foreign minister left here Saturday evening for Damascus, Syria, to continue his Mideast tour, which will also take him to Jordan and Egypt. **** Russia Urges U.S. to Remove Bases After Afghan War. Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Saturday that Moscow hoped the U.S. will keep its promise to remove its military bases from Central Asian countries after military action in Afghanistan is over. Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Saturday that Moscow hoped the U.S. will keep its promise to remove its military bases from Central Asian countries after military action in Afghanistan is over. Russia "respects the choice and decisions of the leaderships of the Central Asian countries about how to build their relations with the U.S. today and for the future," Ivanov told Russia's TVTs television. However, he said, Washington has said the U.S. does not plan to keep its military bases on the territory of the Central Asian countries for long time after it finishes its military task in Afghanistan. "We hope the U.S. will act in conformity with this position," said the minister. Ivanov also said Russia was ready to sign a deal with the U.S. on drastic cut of strategic weapons during U.S. President George Bush's Moscow trip planned for the middle of the next year. The minister said he hoped the two countries would start " concrete negotiations" on this matter in January. Moscow had put forward a proposal for Russia and the U.S. each to cut its nuclear arsenal to 1,500 warheads or fewer, he said. Ivanov said the Russian-American dialogue on strategic stability "will be continued" even after the U.S. announced to unilaterally withdraw from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. "We cannot take an offended posture and say we will not continue negotiations," he said. **** Iraq Capable of Defending Itself: Official. Iraq is capable of defending itself and resisting any possible military attacks launched by the U.S. under the pretext of war against terrorism, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz said on Saturday. Iraq is capable of defending itself and resisting any possible military attacks launched by the U.S. under the pretext of war against terrorism, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz said on Saturday. "We are confident of our capability of resisting any kind of (U. S.) aggressions," Aziz told the state-run television. Any U.S. attacks on Iraq would be rejected by "the whole world," he stressed. There have been widespread speculations that the U.S. might launch military strikes against Iraq as part of its war against terrorism, although the U.S. has acknowledged that it found no link between Iraq and the September 11 terror attacks in New York and Washington. U.S. President George W. Bush demanded Iraq in November to allow international arms inspectors back after an absence of three years, or it will face consequences. The arms inspectors withdrew from Iraq on the eve of the U.S.- British air raids on Baghdad in December 1998. Iraq has been adamant in the face of U.S. threats by vowing to reject the resumption of arms inspections and defend itself by all means. **** Palestinian Envoy Calls for Intensifying Efforts to Halt Israeli Aggression. Palestinian Ambassador in Cairo Zohdy al Qidra has appealed to the world community to intensify efforts to help halt Israel's continued aggressions on the Palestinians, Egypt's state-run MENA news agency reported on Saturday. Palestinian Ambassador in Cairo Zohdy al Qidra has appealed to the world community to intensify efforts to help halt Israel's continued aggressions on the Palestinians, Egypt's state-run MENA news agency reported on Saturday. "The Arab, Islamic and European countries should intensify their moves and adopt a firm stand against Israeli escalation of its aggression on the Palestinian people," Qidra was quoted by the agency as saying. It is clear that the Israeli government led by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon does not want to cool off the situation, Qidra said, adding that the Israelis try to use the worsening situation as a pretext of keeping away from the negotiating table. "What the Israelis has been doing shows their real intention to reject peace and evade carrying out the international legitimacy regarding the Palestinian issue," said the Palestinian envoy. He urged the U.S. to side with the international legitimacy rather than Israel so as not to allow the Israeli government to continue its aggression on the Palestinian people and their legitimate leadership. Qidra also asked the Israelis to pull out their troops immediately from the Palestinian self-rule areas which they have incurved into and to lift the siege on the Palestinian territories. The situation in the Middle East has been worsening as the Israeli cabinet has decided recently to cut off all contacts with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and approved a series of military measures against Palestinian targets in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Arafat on Sunday urged all Palestinians to stop armed operations on Israeli targets, including suicide attacks, calling for restarting peace negotiations between the two sides. In a statement issued on Friday, the militant Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) said that it was suspending suicide attacks inside Israel and mortar attacks against Israeli targets. **** Iran Reiterates Cooperation Policy Toward Caspian Region. President Mohammad Khatami said on Saturday that Iran's policies on the Caspian region are based on all-out cooperation, confidence building, establishment of durable peace and just exploitation of the sea's resources. President Mohammad Khatami said on Saturday that Iran's policies on the Caspian region are based on all-out cooperation, confidence building, establishment of durable peace and just exploitation of the sea's resources. Khatami made the remarks in a written message to the opening session of an international seminar on the Caspian Sea, read out by Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Sadeq Kharazi, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported. During the two-day seminar, more than 80 Iranian and foreign scholars and researchers from 20 countries will discuss issues related to the legal and political regime of the Caspian Sea as well as other regional and international topics. In his message, Khatami underlined the need for further promotion of the regional cooperation in all areas. He noted that the Central Asian countries and the Caucasus are facing major challenges, including interference of foreign powers, terrorism, drug trafficking, organized crimes and growing poverty, on their way to development. The only way to solve the problems are strengthening dialog and regional cooperation, he stressed. Iran believes that the legal regime of the Caspian Sea should be completed on the basis of historical background, good neighborliness, observing economic and security interests of the littoral states, and the status of the regional eco-system as well as consensus and flexibility of the littoral governments far from interference of the extraterritorial powers, he said. The Caspian Sea is estimated to contain the world's third largest reserves of oil and gas after the Persian Gulf and Siberia. Among the five littoral states, Iran and Turkmenistan have pushed for division of the sea into five equal sectors while Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia contend that the sea floor should be divided into national sectors. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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