Beijing on cyber-attack, East China Sea tension

Chinese officials on Wednesday said allegations the country played a part in a cyberattack on the Vatican diocese in Hong Kong was "groundless speculation".

"China is a staunch defender of cybersecurity. We firmly oppose and fight all forms of cyber-attacks and thefts," said Wang Wenbin, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Wednesday.

The hack was first reported by a digital monitoring group called Recorded Future which alleges that hackers supported by China spread malware and accessed church offices in Hong Kong and Vatican servers.

The Vatican and China are scheduled to hold talks in September to negotiate how the world's largest faith organization will cooperate with the world's most populous nation.

Under the leadership of Xi Jinping, chairman of the ruling Communist Party, China has in recent years cracked down on faith groups in an effort to "Sinicize religion" and insisted on appointing bishops in contrast to Catholic tradition. The two sides had come to a provisional agreement in 2018.

China also criticized a new agreement between the US and Australia to strengthen ties and defend its claims to an island controlled by Japan.

Nearly three months of daily Chinese naval patrols of the Senkaku Island, called Diaoyu Island by China, has rattled Tokyo.

Japan's government has said that China is pushing harder to make territorial claims in the regional seas and even using the coronavirus pandemic to expand its influence and take strategic superiority, posing a greater threat to Japan and the region.

(Representative Image)