China denies 2 Canadians detained arbitrarily

China on Monday denied that two Canadian citizens held for almost two years had been “arbitrarily" detained in response to Canada’s arrest of an executive of technology giant Huawei.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian’s denial came days after China granted consular access to Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor for the first time since January.

On Saturday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and US President Donald Trump discussed Kovrig's and Spavor's cases in a phone call and Trudeau expressed thanks for US support.

Zhap told reporters that Canadian attempts to enlist other countries in pressuring China are “completely futile and will only backfire."

Despite its disavowals of any connection, Beijing has repeatedly tied the detentions to the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s chief financial officer and the daughter of the company’s founder.

The US is seeking her extradition on fraud charges and the case is before Canadian courts.

Bilateral ties have suffered as China has upped its demands that Canada release Meng, who was detained during a stopover in Vancouver in December 2018 and is currently living in one of her mansions in the city while fighting extradition.

Kovrig, a former diplomat, and Spavor, an entrepreneur, were detained days later.

Neither had been permitted visits from consular officials amid the coronavirus pandemic.

At Monday's new conference, Zhao also confirmed reports that 60 Chinese nationals and six Chinese fishing boats had been detained by Malaysia's maritime authorities for allegedly operating illegally in Malaysian waters.

He called on Malaysia to "fairly investigate" the cases of Chinese fishermen held for allegedly operating illegally in Malaysian waters.

China has sent personnel to visit detained crew members from six boats seized on Friday and provide them with personal protective equipment and other assistance, Zhao told reporters.

Malaysia is among the countries exercising overlapping claims with China to territory and resources in the South China Sea and has sought to clamp down on Chinese illegal fishing.

In response to reports that Japan conducted anti-submarine drills in the South China Sea on Friday, Zhao said the current situation in the South China Sea was "generally stable" and no country should "harm regional peace, security and stability."

In the drills on Friday, the Maritime Self-Defence Force deployed three vessels including a helicopter aircraft carrier and a submarine, according to the Japanese Defence Ministry.

In response to reports that two Chinese vessels had entered what Japan considers its territorial waters near disputed islands in the East China Sea on Sunday, Zhao said it was China's" inherent right" to carry out law enforcement patrol in the waters of the Diaoyu Islands, or Senkadu Islands as named by Japan.

"The Japanese side should respect this," Zhao said.

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