Tokyo, 5 July, /AJMEDIA/
Two Chinese coast guard vessels entered Japan’s territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands on Tuesday.
The Japan Coast Guard said the intrusion, the 15th this year and the first since June 23, happened around 4:35 a.m., adding that its patrol vessels ordered the Chinese ships to exit the waters immediately.
The coast guard said the pair of vessels entered the waters near the group of uninhabited islets, claimed by China, in the East China Sea after following a Japanese fishing boat in the area.
The Senkakus, which China calls Diaoyu, remain a thorny issue in bilateral relations. Despite repeated protests from Tokyo, Beijing, which has also aggressively asserted territorial claims in the South China Sea, continues to send vessels to waters around the Japan-controlled islands.
Chinese vessels have now been spotted near the islands, including in the so-called contiguous zone outside Japanese waters, for the 81st day in a row, according to the coast guard.