Japan has agreed to offer 150 million yen in compensation for fishery losses of the Chinese side caused when it probed a sunk ship in the Chinese exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea a year ago.

Liu Jianchao, spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, made the announcement when he answered questions from reporters Friday.

Liu said the agreement was reached Friday by the governments of China and Japan, on the basis of notes exchanged by the two governments on June 18.

The Japanese side searched and salvaged an unidentified sunken ship in the waters of China's exclusive economic zone from Dec. 22, 2001, to Sept. 14, 2002, which affected the normal fishery production orders and incurred losses to China's fishery industry, Liu said.

The 100-ton ship sank in the Chinese exclusive economic zone about 390 kilometers off Amami-Oshima Island after exchanging gunfire with Japanese coast guard patrol vessels on Dec. 22 last year.

(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2002)