Japan protested yesterday alleged surveillance activities by a Chinese vessel near disputed islands in a fresh dispute that comes despite efforts by the two countries to repair ties.
Japan said it spotted a Chinese ship early on Sunday that was apparently carrying out research in what Tokyo considers its waters in the East China Sea.
"It was inappropriate to act in our exclusive economic zone without any notification," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki.
"I strongly hope that such things will never happen again," he told a news conference.
Japan issued a protest late on Sunday to the Chinese embassy in Tokyo, which said it would check the details of the incident, officials said.
The Japan Coast Guard said it spotted the vessel surveying an area some 30km west of Uotsuri Island on Sunday and that it left after verbal warnings from a Japanese patrol boat.
The island is part of an uninhabited set of islets, known as the Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, that are disputed among Japan, China and Taiwan.
Japan declared the islands part of its territory in 1895 when it took over Taiwan. After World War II, the US used the islets for military drills before handing them to Japan in 1972 along with Okinawa.
China and Taiwan renewed their claims to the area after oil deposits were confirmed nearby in the 1970s.
But Japan and China, two of the world's biggest energy importers, have in recent months tried to ease tensions over political and economic disputes.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited China shortly after taking office in September.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was