A Japanese coast guard vessel sails in the East China Sea near Uotsuri-jima, the largest island in the uninhabited Senkaku chain, in this undated photo. (Japanese coast guard)
Japan has lodged complaints with China and Taiwan for sending ships into waters around the Senkakus, a group of small islands it controls in the East China Sea.
The first complaint came after a Taiwanese survey vessel was spotted at 8:48 a.m. Wednesday about 113 miles north of Taisho Island, according to a Japanese coast guard news release. A country’s exclusive economic zone usually extends 230 miles beyond the 12-mile territorial limit.
The vessel was extending a wire into the sea and appeared to be conducting surveys. The coast guard asked the vessel to cease its activities but received no answer.
The vessel retrieved the wire at 10:55 a.m. and headed to the north-northeast.
The following day, a pair of Chinese coast guard vessels made the country’s 19th intrusion into area around the Senkakus.
Trailing a Japanese fishing boat, the Chinese ships approached Taisho Island from the southwest and south-southwest and entered the 12-mile limit just before 5 a.m. Thursday, a Japanese coast guard spokesman told Stars and Stripes by phone Friday.
The two ships, which appeared to be unarmed, remained until 9:35 p.m. and 9:59 p.m., respectively, then departed to the east-northeast and west-northwest.
The Chinese ships were met by a larger contingent of Japanese coast guard vessels, according to the spokesman, who declined to provide the exact number. The Japanese ships positioned themselves between the Chinese vessels and Japanese fishing boats and warned the Chinese by radio and electronic message boards to leave the area.
Chinese vessels last appeared near the Senkakus on June 21.
Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs complained Wednesday to the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, a ministry spokesman said. On Thursday the ministry made protests to the Chinese Embassy in Japan and to officials in Beijing, a Japanese coast guard spokesman told Stars and Stripes by phone Friday.
Some government officials in Japan are required to speak to the media only on condition of anonymity.
The latest incident around the Senkakus follows a July 3-7 visit to China by Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki.
Tamaki was on a mission “to boost economic and cultural exchanges,” a spokeswoman for the prefecture’s Asian Economic Strategy Division told Stars and Stripes by phone Friday.
“Diplomatic issues should be solved by the government,” she said.
Okinawa Prefectural Assembly member Ichiro Ohama criticized Tamaki during a June 26 assembly meeting for saying he would not protest incursions around the Senkakus, which Japan considers part of Okinawa prefecture, during his meetings with Chinese officials.
The Senkakus — five uninhabited islets and three rocks 105 miles east of Taiwan — are administered by Japan but also claimed by China and Taiwan, which refer to them as the Diaoyu or Tiaoyutai, respectively. The area reportedly holds a wealth of natural resources, including fish, oil and natural gas.
