China ships entered disputed waters

Japan says Chinese ships have entered waters surrounding a chain of disputed islands in the East China Sea.

Japan’s Coast Guard reported on Sunday that three Chinese ships sailed through the disputed waters.

The coast guard also stated that it marked the “first time since January 27 that Chinese government ships have been spotted in Japanese waters,” Kyodo News reported.

The uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, are located near a crucial shipping lane and give the owner exclusive oil, mineral and fishing rights in the surrounding waters.

The report comes as China Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, accused right-wing forces in Japan on Saturday of repeatedly making allegations about a new Chinese air defense zone with the intent of shifting global attention from the “plot” to change Japan’s pacifist constitution, China’s Xinhua agency reported.

“We sternly warned these forces not to mislead public opinions with rumors and play up tensions for their own selfish benefit,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a Saturday press release.

On January 31, Japan’s Asahi Shimbun daily reported that Chinese air force officials had drafted proposals for a new air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in the South China Sea that could place the Paracel Islands – claimed by both China and Vietnam – at its core.

The Chinese government claims the South China Sea almost in its entirety, even areas located a long way from its shoreline.

Territorial disputes have been on the rise between China and Japan over the past months.