Japan alleged that China Coast Guard vessel 2103, seen here on Aug. 16, 2021, entered Japanese territorial waters in the East China Sea on Jun. 23, 2024. (Japan Coast Guard)
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Four Chinese coast guard vessels since Thursday have repeatedly entered the 12-mile territorial limit around the Senkaku chain, a potential flashpoint approximately halfway between Okinawa and mainland China, according to the Japan coast guard.
The last intrusion, the 23rd of the year, occurred Sunday when two Chinese vessels passed the 12-mile limit between 3:16 p.m. and 3:17 p.m., both vessels were still sailing in Japanese waters Monday, according to a Japan coast guard news release Sunday.
Two other Chinese vessels were in and out of the territorial limit since Thursday, according to the Japan coast guard.
Japan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry has lodged multiple complaints since Thursday with the Chinese Embassy in Japan and with the Chinese government in Beijing, a ministry spokesman said Monday.
“We asked them to leave the area,” the spokesman said. Some government officials in Japan are required to speak to the media only on condition of anonymity.
The Senkakus — five uninhabited islets and three rocks 105 miles east of Taiwan — are administered by Japan but claimed by China and Taiwan, who refer to them as the Diaoyu and Tiaoyutai, respectively. The area reportedly holds a wealth of natural resources, including fish, oil and natural gas.
The first Chinese vessel Sunday passed the territorial limit south-southwest of Uotsurijima, followed by a second vessel south of the same island, according to the release. Both were trailing a Japanese fishing boat.
The Chinese ships were met by a larger contingent of Japanese coast guard vessels, a Japan coast guard spokesman told Stars and Stripes by phone Monday. The Japanese ships positioned themselves between the fishing boat and the Chinese vessels and warned the Chinese by radio and electronic message boards to leave the area.
Chinese ships came within 12 miles of the Senkakus 34 times and remained for a total of 42 days in 2023, the coast guard spokesman said. The record is 2013, when Chinese vessels entered the territorial limits 52 times and remained there for 54 days.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping, during a November visit to a Chinese coast guard command in Shanghai, highlighted the necessity to “constantly strengthen” Beijing’s claim on the islands, Kyodo News reported in December, citing unnamed sources.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel lambasted the plan in January in a post on X. “On New Year’s Day [Chinese] leadership announced that they will keep ships in and around Japan’s Senkaku Islands for 365 consecutive days, quite the New Year’s resolution,” he wrote.
Chinese vessels have been spotted sailing within Japan’s exclusive economic zone near the Senkakus for 186 straight days, “the longest record ever,” according to the coast guard spokesman.
A new Chinese law which took effect June 15 authorizes its coast guard to detain for up to 60 days foreign nationals who intrude into Chinese territorial waters.
Japanese Foreign Affairs Minister Yoko Kamikawa said Japan “has been monitoring with high concern the movements of China in maritime-related fields, including the details of the announcement,” when was asked about the new law during a regular press conference held in Tokyo on May 31.
“The Government will continue to closely follow relevant developments to ensure that the enforcement of the regulations does not infringe upon the legitimate interests of the countries concerned, including Japan. We have also firmly communicated our intentions to China through diplomatic channels,” she said in a clip posted to the ministry’s website.
