The coast guards of the two countries reported that ships from Japan and China were involved on Tuesday (02/12/2025) in a new incident around some disputed islands.
Relations between the two countries have been tense since new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaishi suggested last month that her country could intervene militarily in the event of a Chinese attack on Taiwan, a democratically ruled island that Beijing claims belongs to it.
The Japanese Coast Guard said that two Chinese patrol ships entered its territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea early Tuesday and left a few hours later.
The Senkaku Islands, administered by Japan and known as the Diaoyu in China, have been a common focus of tension between the two countries for decades.
After the patrol boats headed toward a Japanese fishing boat, a Japanese Coast Guard ship asked them to leave the water, according to the force’s statement.
“The activities of Chinese coast guard vessels sailing within Japan’s territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands while asserting their own claims fundamentally violate international law,” he added.
China also accuses Japan
The statement added that the two Chinese ships and another are still in the area.
Meanwhile, Chinese Coast Guard spokesman Liu Dejun stated that a Japanese fishing vessel “illegally entered China’s territorial waters.”
“Chinese Coast Guard ships took necessary monitoring measures and warned him to stay away,” Liu said on the agency’s official account on the WeChat messaging platform.
“The Chinese Coast Guard will continue to carry out rights protection and law enforcement activities in the waters surrounding the Diaoyu Islands, and will resolutely protect national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights,” he added.
This incident followed a similar incident on the islands on November 16, roughly a week after Takaichi’s comments about Taiwan, Kyodo News reported.
China considers Taiwan part of its territory and does not rule out the use of force to regain control over it.
As part of the diplomatic row, Beijing urged its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan and several cultural events were affected, including the suspension of a Japanese singer’s performance in Shanghai on Friday.
mg (AFP, Reuters)