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China’s coastguard says five Japanese vessels were repelled from the Diaoyu Islands on Monday. Photo: Kyodo

Chinese, Japanese coastguards trade warnings near disputed East China Sea islands

  • Five Japanese vessels were repelled from Diaoyu Islands on Monday, China says
  • Japanese coastguard tells media it warned off Chinese vessels from the islands, which are also known as the Senkakus

Chinese coastguard vessels chased away five Japanese vessels from waters surrounding the disputed Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea on Monday, China’s state media reported.

Gan Yu, a spokesman for China’s coastguard, said the Japanese ships, which included the research vessel Shinsei Maru, illegally entered China’s territorial waters off the Diaoyu Islands, which Japan claims as the Senkaku Islands, CCTV reported late Monday.
The Japanese vessel Shinsei Maru. Photo: handout

The Chinese coastguard ships took necessary control measures, Gan said, adding they carried out “legitimate maritime rights protection and law enforcement activities” in an area that China considers its jurisdiction.

He also urged the Japanese side to “immediately stop all illegal activities” in the area and make sure that similar incidents do not happen again.

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On the same day, the Japanese coastguard said it had warned off four Chinese coastguard ships tried to approach a Japanese-registered private vessel in waters around the islands.

It was the second time this month that Chinese government ships sailed near the disputed islands, which are controlled by Tokyo, according to Japan’s Jiji Press.

Japan’s coastguard said the four Chinese ships also tried to approach three fishing boats in the area.

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Diaoyu-Senkaku islands spat deepens as Japan warns China over coastguard ships in East China Sea

Diaoyu-Senkaku islands spat deepens as Japan warns China over coastguard ships in East China Sea
The report cited anonymous sources as saying the private vessel was rented from a city government in Okinawa for marine research activities around the islands.
The disputed islands in the East China Sea have been regular points of friction between the two countries.

Japan had said earlier this month that it planned to step up patrols around the islands in response to what it said was an increasing presence of Chinese vessels in and around its territorial waters.

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The flare-up comes as relations between the two countries remain strained over a range of other issues, including Taiwan and border control measures that have disrupted travel.

Beijing on Sunday lifted restrictions on the issuing of visas for Japanese citizens that had been imposed in response to Tokyo’s tightened border controls for travellers from China.

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