A Chinese coast guard ship equipped with what appeared to be four gun turrets was sighted near disputed islands in the East China Sea, Japan’s coast guard said yesterday.
Chinese coast guard vessels sail regularly near the islets, but a Japanese coast guard spokeswoman said it was the first time an armed Chinese ship had been spotted in the area.
“We have delivered our strong protest and requested to stop the activities near the Senkaku Islands [Diaoyutai Islands, (釣魚台列嶼)] immediately,” Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Takako Ito said in an e-mail.
Photo: Reuters
She referred to a group of tiny, uninhabited islands by their Japanese name, which Taiwan also states claims to.
“Japan will continue to act firmly and calmly, under the principle of resolutely defending our territorial land, sea and air,” Ito said.
The vessel, first sighted on Tuesday afternoon, was sailing 29km off one of the contested islands as of 9am yesterday, Japan’s coast guard said.
Sino-Japanese ties have long been mired by a dispute over the islands.
Patrol ships and fighter jets from both sides regularly shadow each other near the islands, stoking concern that an accidental collision could trigger a clash.
Japan, in 2013, said a Chinese People’s Liberation Army naval vessel aimed fire control radar — normally used to aim weapons at a target — at a Japanese naval ship in the East China Sea, prompting Japan to protest.
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