China says Japan has 'no right to intervene' in sea dispute with Philippines

TOKYO -- China on Friday said Japan has "no right to intervene" in its maritime dispute with the Philippines, after Tokyo expressed serious concern over repeated confrontations in the South China Sea including a particularly tense one on Monday.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Japan told reporters on Friday that China was lodging a "solemn protest" over the Japanese government once again making remarks on the South China Sea, "making mischief and turning black and white upside down," and "accusing China unreasonably in spite of truth."