China ships detected in disputed islands waters

Japan says its coastguards have detected three Chinese government ships in the territorial waters of the East China Sea’s disputed chain of islands, claimed both by Tokyo and Beijing.

Japan’s coastguard said that the surveillance ships were sailing in waters around the islands, known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan, at around 10:00 am (0100 GMT) on Tuesday.

Japan and China have long been competing over the sovereignty of the uninhabited islands, which are located near a crucial shipping lane and would give the owner exclusive oil, mineral and fishing rights in the surrounding waters.

On September 11, Tokyo signed a deal to buy three of the islands from their private Japanese owner in line with plans to nationalize the archipelago.

The relations between Tokyo and Beijing have escalated since Japan nationalized three of the disputed isles. The islands are also claimed by Taiwan.