Tokyo protests Chinese ships entering area near Senkaku Islands
The Japanese government has protested to the Chinese authorities after Chinese Navy patrol ships entered the area near the disputed Senkaku (Diaoyu) Islands on February 6-7, which Tokyo considers its territorial waters.
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| Senkaku Islands as called by Japan and Diaoyu by China |
This was announced by Japanese Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato today (February 8).
“On February 6 and 7, we lodged a protest with China through diplomatic channels. We intend to continue our efforts to monitor the area near the Senkaku Islands, as well as calmly and decisively communicate with the People's Republic of China on this issue,” he said.
Beijing considers the islands illegally occupied and demands their return. The territorial dispute over the uninhabited Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea escalated in September 2012, when Tokyo announced it would buy the islands from their private owners, Japanese citizens. This led to large anti-Japanese protests in China. Since then, Chinese ships have repeatedly sailed near the disputed islands, occasionally deliberately entering their coastal waters.
