Japan accuses Beijing of sending surveillance vessels to Diaoyus
Four Chinese ships seen by Japan's coastguard in disputed waters on Sunday for first time since last week's fire-control radar incident
Beijing sent maritime surveillance vessels to patrol waters near disputed islands in the East China Sea on Sunday and yesterday, the first two days of the Lunar New Year, as tensions between China and Japan remained high.
Japan's coastguard said four Chinese maritime surveillance ships had been spotted on Sunday in waters around the disputed Diaoyu Islands, known as the Senkakus in Japan.
It was the first time that Chinese ships had entered the area since last week, when Japan accused China of targeting fire-control radar at a Japanese destroyer and military helicopter in two separate incidents last month. Three of the ships left the area yesterday morning.
China branded last week's Japanese accusation as "false" and said it had been fabricated to "hype up the so-called China threat theory". State media ran high-profile reports saying patrols around the disputed islands and military drills would continue during the week-long Lunar New Year holiday. Xinhua reported that one of the surveillance vessels, Haijian 137, broadcast a statement in Chinese and English on Sunday, warning nearby Japanese ships that they were in Chinese territory.
The surveillance vessel encountered strong winds yesterday, but that did not deter its crew, Xinhua reported.
"I could see the Diaoyu Islands every day, and I keep a close watch on them. That makes me feel that I am actually standing on solid ground," it quoted crew member Tian Shulin, who has worked for the State Oceanic Administration for two decades, as saying.
The People's Liberation Army Daily reported yesterday that two military planes belonging to the East China Sea fleet had scrambled to follow a plane from an unidentified country.