Japan Forces Chinese Coast Guard Vessels Out of Disputed Waters Near Senkaku Islands

Tokyo. Japan has stated that it forced two Chinese coast guard ships that entered its claimed maritime area near the disputed Senkaku Islands to leave. According to the Japanese Coast Guard, the Chinese ships were directed to immediately leave the area after they moved towards a Japanese fishing boat.

This latest incident has once again escalated maritime tensions between Japan and China in the East China Sea. According to a statement issued by the Japanese Coast Guard, after repeated warnings to the Chinese ships, they left the maritime area claimed by Japan as its territorial waters by 9:20 AM on Tuesday. Additional coast guard ships have also been deployed to ensure the safety of the Japanese fishing boat.

Initially, four Chinese coast guard ships were patrolling around the disputed area, two of which entered the waters claimed by Japan. Japan has clarified that it considers such activities a violation of international law and will continue to protect its territorial waters peacefully but firmly in the future.

The Senkaku Islands, located between Taiwan and Japan's Okinawa, are known as Diaoyu in China, and Japan and China have had a long-standing territorial dispute over the ownership of these islands. Since China regularly deploys its coast guard ships in the area, maritime tensions frequently arise with the Japanese security forces.

According to Japanese officials, Chinese ships had also entered the waters that Japan considers its territory on June 10, but this time they came unusually close to a Japanese fishing boat. Japan alleges that China regularly deploys ships in other disputed areas of the East China Sea, and these areas are believed to have potential reserves of energy resources such as oil and natural gas.

Relations between the two countries have become more sensitive in recent months. After Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made remarks about Taiwan's security situation last November, Beijing strongly expressed its disagreement. Since then, China has urged its citizens not to visit Japan and has also tightened trade restrictions on some Japanese companies.