Japan protests after Chinese ships enter Diaoyu waters again

Japan yesterday lodged its first diplomatic protest with China in more than three weeks, after the Japanese coastguard spotted Chinese ships in waters near a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea.

The protest came as Tokyo and Beijing were reportedly preparing for talks on the dispute, which has damaged relations and affected trade between the two countries.

The Japanese coastguard said three Chinese maritime surveillance vessels moved into waters near Minamikojima, known as Nan Xiaodao in China, early yesterday morning. It is one of the five main islets of the Diaoyu Islands, known as the Senkakus in Japan.

Another Chinese maritime surveillance vessel entered Japan's territorial waters an hour later, the coastguard said. The four vessels remained for more than seven hours before moving out to the contiguous waters, a band that stretches a further 12 nautical miles from shore.

This is the first time since October 3 that Chinese surveillance vessels have entered the 12-nautical-mile zone around the Diaoyu Islands. The earlier incident also triggered a diplomatic protest from Tokyo.

Japan's deputy foreign minister, Chikao Kawai, "strongly protested" to China's ambassador in Tokyo, Cheng Yonghua , about yesterday's incident, but Cheng rejected the protest, China News Service reported.