ZCZC
BFF-20
JAPAN-CHINA-DIPLOMACY-MARITIME
Japan protests over China ships off disputed isles
TOKYO, Feb 8, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Japan said Monday it has protested to China
over two incursions into Japanese territorial waters that come after Beijing
enacted legislation toughening its response to violations of its maritime
territory.
Japan and China dispute ownership of the uninhabited islets in the East
China Sea that Tokyo calls the Senkakus and Beijing the Diaoyu.
The rocky islets are administered by Tokyo, which has regularly protested
what it calls the violation of its territory by Chinese vessels.
The latest row comes amid heightened tensions after China enacted
legislation allowing its coast guard to use weapons against foreign ships
that Beijing sees as illegally entering its waters.
Japanese government spokesman Katsubonu Kato said Tokyo had protested
after two Chinese coast guard ships entered waters off the Senkaku islands on
Saturday and Sunday
“We made a strong protest through diplomatic routes both in Tokyo and
Beijing, strongly demanding that they immediately stop their moves to try to
approach Japanese fishing vessels, and that they swiftly leave the
territorial waters,” Kato said.
He said Japan’s coast guard ships “repeatedly demanded they leave, while
ensuring safety of fishing vessels”.
“Japan can never tolerate” such moves, Kato added.
Chinese coast guard vessels have regularly been sent around the disputed
islands, especially under the leadership of President Xi Jinping who wants to
make the country a maritime power.
Last year, Chinese ships were confirmed in the contiguous zone of the
islets for a total of 333 days, an all-time high.
Aside from the territorial row with Japan, Beijing claims almost the
entire South China Sea despite competing partial claims from Brunei,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
It has ignored a 2016 international tribunal ruling that declared its
assertion as without basis.
Analysts say China’s communist rulers are making waves in the Pacific as
they extend their naval strength and reach while Japan and the Philippines
bolster their own fleets, increasing the risk of a maritime conflict.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1452 hrs