On March 19, three ships of the Chinese Coast Guard entered the waters around the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands with Japan.

The Japan Coast Guard said three Chinese ships entered Japanese waters at 9:30 a.m. on March 19 and remained there for about two hours. They only left after a Japanese patrol ship warned them and asked them to leave Japanese waters.

Japanese ships (inside) chase Chinese ships out of the Senkaku/Diaoyu area. Photo: Japan Times

According to the announcement of the Japan Coast Guard, this is the 7th time Chinese ships have entered this area since the beginning of the year.

The Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands are a small group of islands located about 400km west of the main island of Japan's Okinawa prefecture and are currently controlled by Japan, but China also claims sovereignty and regularly sends ships or planes to these waters./.

According to VOV