Japan spotted Chinese vessels sailing near disputed islets in the East China Sea for a record 216 consecutive days, the Japan Coast Guard said yesterday.
The Tokyo-administered islands — known as the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) to Taiwan and Senkaku Islands in Japan, and which China also claims — have long been a sore point between the neighbors.
Japan yesterday said it observed four China Coast Guard vessels sailing in the “contiguous” zone, referring to a 12-nautical-mile (22.2km) band that extends beyond Japan’s territorial waters.
Photo: AFP
Last year, Chinese vessels sailed near the Tokyo-administered island chain a record 355 times, including for a period of 216 consecutive days, a Japanese coast guard spokesman said.
Japanese officials regularly protest the presence of the Chinese coast guard and other vessels in the waters surrounding the remote, disputed islands.
Relations between Japan and China were strained by Tokyo’s decision to “nationalize” some of the islands in 2012.
On Friday, Japan’s coast guard, and its US and Philippine counterparts staged joint training drills off Japan’s southwest shore — the second time the countries’ coast guards have held training drills together, and the first in Japan.
Territorial disputes with China have pushed Japan to forge deeper ties with the Philippines and the US.
Earlier this month, Tokyo and Beijing traded barbs over close encounters between their military planes over the Pacific high seas.
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