Chinese surveillance ships sail near disputed islands: Japan

Japan says three Chinese surveillance ships have entered the waters surrounding the disputed group of islands in the East China Sea.

On Thursday, Japan’s Coast Guard said the ships had entered the 12-nautical-mile territorial zone off one of the islands called Uotsuri shortly after 7:00 a.m. local time.

Earlier in the week, Chinese Foreign Minister Hua Chunying issued a statement saying that Beijing had positioned buoys near the disputed islands in order to carry out “maritime weather observations.”

The disputed islands are known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

On February 24, Japan’s Coast Guard said that three Chinese surveillance ships had entered its territorial waters near the same location.

Tokyo and Beijing have long been at loggerheads over the sovereignty of the islands, which would give the owner exclusive oil, mineral, and fishing rights in the surrounding waters. The islands are controlled by Japan and form part of Okinawa prefecture.

Tensions heightened between the two countries after Japan signed a deal on September 11, 2012 to buy three of the islands from their private Japanese owner in line with plans to nationalize the archipelago. Hundreds of Chinese held several anti-Japan demonstrations following the Japanese move.