Update | Japan protests as China’s PLA Navy sails near disputed Diaoyu Islands in East China Sea
Tokyo summons Chinese envoy after navy patrols near to territorial waters
China hit back after Japan summoned its top envoy yesterday to express concern over the sailing of a PLA Navy ship close to what Tokyo considers its territorial waters in the East China Sea.
A People’s Liberation Army vessel entered waters surrounding the Tokyo-administered isles, called the Diaoyu Islands by China and the Senkakus in Japan, at 12.50am and left at 3.10am, the Japanese foreign ministry said.
“The fact that [China] sent a naval ship to the contiguous waters of our Senkaku Islands for the first time is an act that unilaterally increases tension and our nation is gravely concerned,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said.
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Contiguous waters are a 12-nautical-mile band that extend beyond territorial waters. Under international rules, they are not the preserve of any single country, although the resident power has certain limited rights.
The Chinese defence ministry said the Diaoyu Islands were China’s “inherent territory”, and the PLA naval vessels sailing in the waters near them were “under China’s jurisdiction”.
The fact that [China] sent a naval ship to the contiguous waters of our Senkaku Islands for the first time is an act that unilaterally increases tension and our nation is gravely concerned
“No other country has the right to make irresponsible remarks,” the ministry said on its website.
The PLA naval ship was a 3,963-tonne Jiangkai class frigate, and was spotted by Japan’s guided-missile destroyer Setogiri, the Japanese defence ministry said.