Beijing: China has officially made responses to the detention of Cosco ship Da Dan Xia (built 2009, 28,000 dwt) in Colombia for carrying arms onboard.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying claimed that the shipment was part of a normal military trade agreement and that there were no sensitive substances onboard, adding that the cooperation does not violate Chinese laws and regulations nor the international obligations that China undertakes.
Currently China is in communication with Colombian authorities and Cosco, and will provide assistance to Chinese citizens involved.
Colombian authorities found around 100 tonnes of gunpowder, detonators, rockets and around 3,000 cannon shells onboard the heavylift vessel belonging to Cosco Shipping. The cargo was listed as grain products and was bound for Cuba.
This is not the first time state-run Cosco has been hit with unflattering arms shipping headlines. Back in April 2008, the An Yue Jing was castigated for delivering 77 tons of armaments to the Robert Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe.
