4 Chinese ships intrude into Japan’s territorial waters

By Ahmet Furkan Mercan

TOKYO (AA) - Four Chinese government vessels entered Japan's territorial waters off the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea on Wednesday.

Japan Coast Guard officials said the vessels approached the islands of Minamikojima and Uotsuri Jima and stayed in the disputed area for about two hours, adding Japanese officials warned the ships to leave.

According to Japanese public broadcaster NHK, this marks the 30th time in 2021 that official Chinese vessels have entered Japan's territorial waters off the Senkaku Islands, adding the last time was on Sept. 19.

The Senkaku Islands are controlled by Japan, but China also claims them. The Japanese government maintains that the islands are an inherent part of Japan's territory in terms of history and international law. As such, there is no issue of sovereignty to be resolved over them, according to Japan.

*Writing by Seda Sevencan