Chinese ships are patrolling the waters of the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands, in an exercise described as “legitimate.”

Madrid, November 16 (European Press) –

A small Chinese coast guard flotilla entered the waters around the Senkaku Islands – which are administered by Japan – on Sunday in an operation that Beijing described as a patrol in compliance with its rights and carried out in accordance with international law.

The Maritime Authority announced this in a statement compiled by the Global Times newspaper, claiming that it owns the territorial waters surrounding the aforementioned archipelago, which China refers to as the Diaoyu Islands.

In its official note, the Foundation defended the practice as a measure aimed at protecting rights, and reiterated that it was implemented in accordance with international standards and current legislation.

The Gulf Cooperation Council also stressed that such monitoring operations are part of its normal activity and seek to protect what it considers to be legitimate rights.

For years, China and Japan have been locked in a diplomatic struggle over sovereignty over this group of uninhabited islands located in the East China Sea, whose administration has been the responsibility of Tokyo since 1972, and which it calls the Senkakus. Beijing, for its part, insists that it will continue to deploy its patrols in the region to defend its historical claims.

Although the Chinese statement does not refer to any interaction with Japanese ships during the voyage, with this new incident, regional tension around the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands has become evident again, in a context in which the two countries have been involved in several maritime disputes in recent years.