Four Chinese ships confront Japanese patrol near Diaoyutai
Staff Reporter 2013-07-27 16:08
A Chinese vessel encounters a Japanese patrol boat in July 2012. (File photo/Xinhua)
China sent four patrol ships to waters 12 nautical miles off disputed islands in the East China Sea on July 26, keeping tension with Japan alive, according to the Chinese state newswire Xinhua and our Chinese-language sister paper Want Daily.
Around 8:30am on Friday, the four Chinese Cost Guard ships 2350, 2101, 2506 and 2166 made a declaration of sovereignty to a Japanese vessel patrolling the Diaoyutai (Diaoyu or Senkaku) islands by hailing through radio, loudspeaker and shipboard signs, demanding the boat leave immediately.
The Japanese boat responded by demanding the four ships to leave Japanese waters but the Chinese coast guard responded by radio, saying "the Diaoyu islands and nearby islets have been China's territory since ancient times."
The four ships were sent by the China Coast Guard, recently established by the amalgamation of four agencies formerly individually responsible for fishery administration, maritime surveillance, customs enforcement and border control. Chinese naval ships have sailed to within three nautical miles of the disputed islands before the new department was formed.
Tensions between China and Japan flared up again after five Chinese naval vessels on Thursday circled Japan after taking part in a drill jointly held by China and Russia. Youth.cn, a website run by the China Communist Youth League, also claimed that one of the country's domestically produced fighter jets patrolled and encountered Japanese forces on Friday over East China Sea.
Japan's latest defense paper reveals the government's desire to boost its naval power to be able to occupy the disputed islands as well as enhance air defenses above them. Japanese forces may purchase drones to patrol the area and establish digitized surveillance centered on nearby Yonaguni island, Japan's westernmost point.
The disputed islands are also claimed by Taiwan, which refers to them as Diaoyutai.
