Chinese coast guard ships enter Japanese waters

Seven Chinese ships have sailed into Japanese waters around the southern Okinawa Senkaku islands only hours before the first anniversary of Japan purchasing the disputed islets.

The Senkaku Islands, a set of five uninhabited pieces of rock in the southwestern reaches of Okinawa Prefecture, are administered by Ishigaki.  The islands are owned by Japan, but are at the center of a bitter dispute with Japan, which calls the islands Diaoyus and claims them as Chinese.

Tuesday’s venture into Japanese waters was the largest Chinese coast guard flotilla to enter the region since eight Chinese vessels were in the area last April.  The Chinese, led by the State Oceanic Administration, simply called the ships entry to Japanese waters the 59th “patrol” in the region in the past year, when Tokyo bought the islands.

17:34 29 Mar , 2024