Chinese, Japanese chase each other near disputed Diaoyu Islands as tensions rise in East China Sea
- Chinese coastguard ships warned after they approach Japanese fishing boat, with one analyst saying ‘serious escalation of the situation’ could now occur
- It was the ninth sighting of Chinese ships close to the Senkakus this year, but some see the incidents as Beijing’s way of drawing a reaction from Washington
A Japanese patrol vessel deployed around the fishing boat to ensure its safety warned the Chinese ships to leave Japanese territory, Japan’s coastguard said. Two other Chinese vessels were also spotted cruising in the so-called contiguous zone just outside Japan’s territorial waters. One of them appeared to be armed with an autocannon, the coastguard said.
In mid-February, Tokyo filed a protest with Beijing after “unacceptable” incidents of Chinese coastguard vessels approaching Japanese trawlers near the disputed islands for two straight days.
James Brown, a professor of international relations at the Tokyo campus of Temple University, said he expected a “serious escalation of the situation” could occur as Beijing seeks to solidify its territorial claims.
“The logical next step would be for the Chinese to board a vessel and potentially arrest anyone on board,” he said, adding that it would inevitably invite a response from Tokyo, in the same way that Beijing reacted strongly in September 2010, when a Chinese fisherman was taken into custody by the Japanese coastguard after being found operating within Japanese waters close to the islands.
There was similar anger when Japan purchased the islands from their Japanese owners in 2012, effectively nationalising the territory.
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Diaoyu-Senkaku islands spat deepens as Japan warns China over coastguard ships in East China Sea