Japan on Wednesday lodged a protest with China through a diplomatic channel after four Chinese coast guard ships were spotted entering Japanese territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, calling the incident “unacceptable.”
File photo taken in June 2011 shows the contested Senkaku Islands at the center of a diplomatic disagreement between Japan and China. (Kyodo)
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said the latest intrusion is “a violation of the international law,” vowing to respond resolutely to such Chinse actions to defend Japanese territorial waters and airspace.
The Senkaku Islands, administered by Japan but claimed by China, remain a source of friction between the Asian neighbors.
The four Chinese coast guard ships began entering the waters around the uninhabited islets at around 10 a.m. and left by around noon, Hayashi said.
It marked the second intrusion into Japanese territorial waters around the islands by Chinese vessels this year. It also came after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed last week that their bilateral security treaty, under which the United States helps defend Japan, covers the Senkakus.
“It’s truly regrettable and unacceptable that the Chinese coast guard vessels entered the Japanese waters around the Senkaku Islands,” Hayashi said. “We will do our utmost in carrying our warning and surveillance activities and respond to China in a calm yet resolute manner.”
Related coverage:
China says it will remove buoy set up in Japan’s EEZ near Senkakus
Chinese aircraft carrier enters southern Japan contiguous zone
Japan accuses China military of airspace violation for 1st time
