Japan files diplomatic protest over Chinese ships near disputed Diaoyu Islands
- Chinese coastguard vessels have been operating near the islands, known as the Senkaku in Japan, for 65 consecutive days
- Tokyo said it will respond ‘firmly and calmly’, as analysts point out the showdown in the East China Sea is being replicated elsewhere in the region
This is the longest period since September 2012, when Beijing and Tokyo were at loggerheads over the question of sovereignty after the Japanese government bought some of the islands from the Japanese family that owned them.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga declined to comment on what the Chinese ships might be doing in waters around the islands.
“The Senkaku Islands are under our control and are unquestionably our territory, historically and under international law. We believe it is extremely serious that these activities continue,” he told a press conference. “We will respond firmly and calmly to the Chinese side.”
“Beijing is constantly trying to probe and find opportunities to exploit Japanese weaknesses around the islands as part of its longer-term strategy,” said Stephen Nagy, an associate professor of international relations at Tokyo’s International Christian University.
The aim, he said, is to enter the disputed waters to demonstrate to the international community that Japan’s claim is weak because it cannot exercise administrative control over the area – a strategy dubbed “lawfare”.