China transfers 47 rescued crew members from sunken Vietnamese vessel: FM spokesman

China has rescued 47 crew members from a sunken Vietnamese vessel in waters near the Nansha Qundao in the South China Sea, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Monday.

"On July 25, a Chinese rescue vessel Nanhai Jiu 115 spotted and rescued 29 crew members of a distressed Vietnamese ship in waters near Nansha Qundao. The Chinese side immediately sent out several vessels and a helicopter to continue search and rescue operations. Until now, China has rescued 47 Vietnamese crew members. After giving medical treatment to those who are injured, the Chinese side transferred all rescued personnel to the Vietnamese side. The Vietnamese side has expressed thanks to the Chinese side," said Lin.

"As far as we know, the Vietnamese vessel sank on Friday night with 62 crew members on board. Search and rescue efforts are still ongoing for those who remain missing," he said.

Japan's ongoing push to revise its pacifist constitution and expand military buildup escalate regional tension, warned Japanese lawyer Kyoko Oe, who urged adherence to pacifism and vigilance against the government's dangerous moves.

Since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office last October, the Japanese government has renewed its push to revise the country's pacifist constitution and accelerated a series of military expansion measures, including increasing defense spending, deploying long-range missiles, and easing restrictions on arms exports.

Speaking on the dangerous policy shifts, Oe criticized the Takaichi administration for bypassing public will.

"We believe that when Japanese citizens are not demanding constitutional reform, pushing it forward through a parliamentary majority clearly violates the principle of popular sovereignty and the obligation to respect the constitution. Moreover, the content of the revision itself is extremely dangerous. [The government] is attempting to change pacifist principles of the Japanese constitution -- the most fundamental part -- and abandon basic concepts, including the renunciation of war and not maintaining military forces," said Oe.

The Japanese government has aggressively accelerated war readiness even under the current constitution, said Oe, adding that amending it will grant the Self-Defense Forces even greater freedom of action at the constitutional level.

"If the constitution is amended, the Self-Defense Forces will gain greater freedom of action at the constitutional level than they have now, and legal interpretations will develop in that direction. Even while the current constitution remains effective, the Japanese government has already forcibly advanced war preparations. For example, manufacturing long-range missiles, which were previously considered unacceptable to possess, and deploying them domestically; conducting joint war games and military exercises with the United States; and massively manufacturing and exporting weapons overseas," said Oe.

The lawyer also criticized Takaichi's provocative remarks on China, saying they have sharply strained bilateral ties and undermined peace and stability in the region.

"We believe that due to Takaichi's remarks made last November, China-Japan relations have become very tense and are deteriorating. Legal experts believe that Takaichi's remarks contain multiple obvious errors. Takaichi should frankly retract the relevant remarks and apologize. Only by building mutual trust with neighboring countries can we maintain our peace, and the peace of East Asia and even the peace of Asia. We believe that what the Takaichi administration is doing runs completely counter to what the Japanese people truly wish to achieve," Oe said.