Tokyo: In yet another case of illegal intrusion by Beijing, four Chinese government ships entered Japan’s territorial waters off the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea on Monday.
Japan’s Coast Guard said that the vessels intruded into the waters off Uotsuri and Taisho islands at around 4:30 pm (local time), and they are warning the ships to leave immediately, reported NHK World.
It further reported that this is the 16th time that Chinese government vessels have intruded into Japanese waters off the Senkaku Islands.
Japan controls the Senkaku Islands, however, China and Taiwan continue to claim them.
Tokyo maintains the islands are an inherent part of its territory as per history and international law.
China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea and has overlapping territorial claims with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan.
Earlier two weeks ago, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea reported that government patrols had spotted an estimated 240 Chinese ships in Philippine waters – more than the 220 spotted in March.
China has been increasing its maritime activities in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea over the past few months, partly in response to Beijing’s concerns over the increasing US military presence in the region because of escalating Sino-US tensions.
Beijing’s rising assertiveness against counter claimants in the East and South Sea has resulted in unprecedented agreement across the Indo-Pacific.