Chinese Ships Re-Enter Disputed Waters
Chinese Ships Re-Enter Disputed Waters
Four Chinese surveillance ships have entered waters near disputed Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea, further intensifying a bitter territorial dispute.
Japan’s Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba said Tuesday authorities have called on the ships to leave the Japanese waters, and that a complaint has been lodged with China’s government.
In Beijing, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said the four surveillance ships were patrolling waters near the islands, known in Japan as Senkaku and in China as Diaoyu. The spokesman also said China opposes what he called an illegal entrance into the waters by “Japanese right-wingers.” He described the move as a “provocation.”