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Ananova : Japan wants to raise ship sunk during weekend battle ==================================== Japan will try to raise a suspected spy ship that they sank to help determine what measures to take against the country it came from. The government has refused to speculate publicly on the ship's origin, but independent analysts suggest it may have been North Korean. Transportation Minister Chikage Ogi announced the wreckage would be retrieved as Japanese aircraft and patrol boats called off their hunt for a second suspicious boat after identifying it as a Japanese fishing trawler. Ms Ogi says retrieving the wreckage is a crucial step as Japan decides what measures to take to respond to the high-seas shootout, in which two sailors died and another 13 are missing. But she declined to give other details. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi backed plans to raise the boat. "One thought is that by raising the ship, we could get more evidence as to the nationality of the boat," Mr Koizumi's spokesman Hideichi Okada said. Mr Okada cautioned that raising the vessels could pose diplomatic challenges because it sank just outside Chinese territorial waters in China's exclusive economic zone. Any talk of lifting it from the bottom would require coordination with Beijing. A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said it's too early to formulate a political response. "Without identifying the nationality of the ship, it can't be decided if this is a diplomatic issue or simply a criminal matter," the spokeswoman said. Story filed: 19:07 Tuesday 25th December 2001 ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
