Japan summons Chinese envoy over disputed islands

Japan has summoned China’s acting ambassador to Tokyo after Chinese ships entered the territorial waters around a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea.

Japan’s Foreign Ministry said that four Chinese coastguard vessels entered the area near the islands, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, on Wednesday and were still there on Thursday morning.

A Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Thursday that Tokyo submitted a protest letter to acting Ambassador Han Zhiqiang over the incident, marking the longest sailing by Chinese ships in the disputed waters since the long-simmering dispute erupted again last year.

“The Chinese side argued its… position and said it could not accept Japan’s protest,” he said after the Chinese diplomat met Japanese officials.

Sovereignty over the territories has been a bone of contention between Asia’s largest economies for a long time.

The islands are controlled by Japan now, but Beijing has also laid claim on them.

The Islands 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, 2012, Tokyo signed a deal to buy three of the islands from their private Japanese owner in line with plans to nationalize the archipelago.

In late April, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tokyo would “expel by force” any Chinese individuals landing on the islands, following an incident where eight Chinese vessels entered the disputed waters.