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Japan spots 230 Chinese fishing boats off disputed islets
by Staff Writers
Tokyo (AFP) Aug 6, 2016


Japan summons Chinese ambassador over ships
Tokyo (AFP) Aug 5, 2016 - Japan's foreign ministry on Friday summoned China's ambassador to protest what it said were intrusions into its territorial waters by Chinese coast guard and fishing vessels.

The two countries are locked in a long-running dispute over uninhabited islets in the East China Sea known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.

Japanese vice foreign minister Shinsuke Sugiyama called in Cheng Yonghua, Beijing's ambassador to Tokyo, the foreign ministry said in a statement on its website.

Sugiyama "strongly protested" to Cheng that the incursions were a "violation of Japan's sovereignty", the ministry said.

Japan also issued separate protests to other officials at the Chinese embassy in Tokyo as well as through its own embassy in Beijing to China's foreign ministry, the statement said.

The Japan Coast Guard, meanwhile, said in a statement that two coast guard vessels from China's State Oceanic Administration entered territorial waters near the Senkaku islands during the afternoon before eventually departing.

One ship entered Japan's waters twice, it said, while a Chinese fishing boat was also seen in violation.

Japan's coast guard said that it warned all the vessels to leave.

Tensions over the islands reached their peak in late 2012, seriously harming bilateral relations.

The two sides have gradually taken steps to ease tensions through dialogue but the fundamental divide over the islands remains unresolved and tensions occasionally flare up.

Japan also lodged a protest in June after it said a Chinese navy frigate sailed close to territorial waters near the islands for the first time.

Japan said in an official annual defence report on Tuesday that China has been stepping up activities in the area, including flying aircraft closer to the islets.

China is also embroiled in an increasingly bitter dispute over territory in the South China Sea with several Southeast Asian countries.

Some 230 Chinese fishing vessels and seven coast guard ships, including four apparently carrying weapons, sailed into waters close to disputed East China Sea islands on Saturday, Japan's foreign ministry and coastguard said.

Six Chinese coast guard ships were spotted earlier in the day and late Saturday afternoon Japanese officials said they spotted another, which seemed to be carrying arms, in the contiguous waters of the uninhabited islands.

The two countries are locked in a long-running dispute over the rocky islets -- known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China -- but it is rare for so many Chinese fishing vessels to be spotted in the disputed waters.

"We cannot be sure about what the Chinese coast guards are doing for what purposes in the waters," a Japanese coast guard official told AFP.

The 230 fishing vessels and seven coast guard boats remained in the area nine hours after they were first spotted, he added.

The fishing vessels appeared to be engaged in operation, he said.

After catching sight of the coast guard ships in the contiguous waters at 8:05 am (2305 GMT, Friday), the Japanese foreign ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau lodged a strong protest with the Chinese embassy in Tokyo, it said.

The foreign ministry, which also submitted a protest through its embassy in Beijing, demanded the vessels leave the disputed waters immediately and "never enter Japan's territorial waters", the ministry said in a statement.

"Japan can never accept activities by (Chinese) official vessels near the Senkaku islands, because it will unilaterally escalate the situation and raise tensions in the area," it said.

Saturday's protest came a day after Japanese vice foreign minister Shinsuke Sugiyama summoned Cheng Yonghua, Beijing's ambassador to Tokyo, to protest over intrusions into its territorial waters by Chinese coast guard and fishing vessels on Friday afternoon.

Tensions over the islands have seriously harmed bilateral relations.

The two sides have gradually taken steps to ease tensions through dialogue but the fundamental divide over the islands remains unresolved and tensions occasionally flare up.

Japan also lodged a protest in June after it said a Chinese navy frigate sailed close to territorial waters near the islands for the first time.


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Japan warns China over 'territorial aggression'
Tokyo (AFP) Aug 2, 2016
China risks triggering unintended conflict with Asian rivals through its aggressive stance in maritime disputes, Japan said Tuesday in a security assessment, as a Beijing minister urged preparations for a "people's war at sea". China's sweeping claims over the South China Sea, where it has built a series of artificial islands capable of supporting military operations despite overlapping clai ... read more


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