Japan establishes permanent force to protect Senkaku

The Japanese Coast Guard announced today, January 11, that it has established a squadron of 12 patrol vessels in the waters surrounding the disputed islands with China, which Japan calls Senkaku and Beijing calls Diaoyu.

A special group of 400 coast guard soldiers has been assigned to the force to deal with China's repeated incursions, according to the Asahi Shimbun. Due to the shortage of soldiers, the coast guard is considering extending the retirement age of some soldiers. According to Asahi, the Japanese coast guard currently has 12,000 personnel, of whom 2,500 are 55 years old or older.

A Japanese coast guard ship (below) and a Chinese maritime surveillance ship in disputed waters - Photo: japantimes.co.jp

To establish a fleet of 12 patrol boats, the government may have to request an expansion in the budget proposal for this fiscal year submitted to parliament to build six new 1,000-ton ships.

With the launch of the 6,500-ton patrol ship Akitsushima this fall, Japan had planned to decommission two 3,000-ton vessels. However, they will now be refitted to increase their maximum speed to better respond to Chinese intrusions. Coast Guard patrol ships are typically used for 25 years, but the new plan will extend their service life to 15 years.

Four 1,000-ton ships, built with state funds, are expected to join the fleet in 2014. Two more ships will be added in 2015.

Since the Japanese government bought three islands in the archipelago from private hands in September 2012, Chinese ships have repeatedly entered the waters around the islands, a total of 21 times, according to statistics from the Japanese coast guard.

According to Tuoi Tre - DT