China’s coast guard entered the territorial waters of the Japan-administered Senkaku Islands Wednesday morning in the East China Sea in what the agency called a “rights-protection patrol.”
Newsweek reached out to the Chinese foreign ministry via email with a request for comment.
Why It Matters
The uninhabited Senkakus, known in China as the Diaoyu Islands, are at the center of a long-running territorial dispute between the two neighbors. Taiwan also claims the island group.
Tokyo nationalized the islands in 2012, drawing strong protest from Beijing, which has since progressively stepped up patrols by its increasingly assertive coast guard—moves Japan sees as attempts to alter the status quo.
What To Know
Wednesday morning, four Chinese coast guard cutters sailed “one after the other” into territorial waters off the Senkakus, NHK cited Japan’s coast guard as saying.
All four of the vessels were said to have been equipped with deck-mounted guns.
They departed from the zone after about two hours, the Japanese agency said, adding that it had broadcast radio warnings and continues to monitor the situation.
It was the first China coast guard “intrusion” into the territorial waters, or waters extending 12 nautical miles (13.8) off the coastline, since March 7.
Last year, Chinese government ships entered the contiguous zone—an area that extends 12 nautical miles beyond territorial waters—on a record 353 days, according to Tokyo.
Monday marked the 175th consecutive day that Chinese government vessels have been observed in the contiguous zone.
The day before, Japan’s coast guard said it had expelled a Chinese oceanographic survey vessel that was operating inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, roughly 140 miles from the Senkakus’ Taisho Island.
China operates more than twice as many coast guard vessels over 1,000 tons in displacement as Japan—and many of them are more heavily armed.
China’s introduction of a coast guard law, empowering crews to use force to assert Beijing’s sovereignty claims, intensified concerns in Tokyo.
What People Are Saying
China’s Coast Guard said in a statement: “The China Coast Guard 1306 fleet patrolled the territorial waters of China’s Diaoyu Dao on May 14. This is a rights-protection patrol activity carried out in accordance with the law.”
What’s Next
The Senkaku Islands are likely to remain a source of friction as China continues its efforts to normalize patrols there.
U.S. officials have repeatedly affirmed that the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty applies to the Senkakus, though Japan’s cautious handling of the dispute suggests the matter is unlikely to escalate into an armed confrontation in the near future.
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