China Coast Guard Patrols East China Sea. This image released by the China coast guard on May 24 is said to show a flotilla of ships led by the Zhaoyu-class patrol cutter Haijing 2304 patrolling waters east of Taiwan.
CCG
The Japanese coast guard said it intervened in territorial waters around the disputed Senkaku Islands on Friday to expel a flotilla of intruding Chinese coast guard ships, including one armed with a “cannon.”
The Chinese government vessels entered claimed territorial waters around the islets for about two hours and pursued three Japanese fishing boats in the area, Japan’s Jiji Press cited the Japanese coast guard as saying.
The incident happened just days before China’s coast guard set a new record on Monday for consecutive days of patrols in waters near the islets-158 days since December 22, 2023 according to Japan‘s coast guard.
Beijing claims the uninhabited East China Sea islands as the Diaoyu group, which are also claimed by Taipei as Tiaoyutai.
The Senkakus have been administered by Tokyo for decades, but its decision to nationalize them in 2012 triggered a marked increase in Chinese intrusions into Japan’s declared 12-nautical mile territorial sea around the islets, and especially into the adjacent contiguous zone, which extends another 12 nautical miles beyond that.
The United States officially does not take a position on sovereignty over the islands, but it recognizes Japan’s effective control of the territory and is treaty-bound to defend it should Japanese forces come under attack there.
The Chinese coast guard’s 158-day streak of patrols was one more than its previous record set in 2021, when daily operations continued from February 13 to July 19 until they were interrupted by an approaching typhoon.
In 2023, Chinese ships spent 352 of a possible 365 days in waters near the Senkakus, up from 336 days the year before, and the highest annual total since Japan coast guard records began in 2008.
China‘s maritime law enforcement agency says the patrols are aimed at asserting the country’s territorial rights.
The China Coast Guard was formally established in 2013 and since 2018 has been under the command of the Central Military Commission, chaired by Chinese President Xi Jinping. The service has spearheaded Beijing’s territorial assertions across the region, including in the contested South China Sea.
The Yaeyama Nippo newspaper from Ishigaki, the Japanese island which administers the Senkakus, said on Saturday that the May 24 patrols involved Chinese patrol cutters between 1,700 and 4,800 tons in size.
The Haijing 1401, a Shucha II-class cutter, carried a “machine cannon” on its deck, the paper reported.
Japan’s Sankei Shimbun newspaper, citing government sources, said China sent a flotilla including the 5,500-ton Shuoshi II-class cutter Haijing 2501 on Sunday. It was equipped with a 76-millimeter autocannon.
Beijing was deploying larger, all-weather vessels to the Senkakus in a bid to “establish de facto jurisdiction” with a constant presence there, the outlet said.
China’s coast guard has no publicly available contact information. The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a written request for comment on Monday.
The Japanese coast guard could not be reached for comment.
Li Qiang, China’s premier, met Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan in Seoul on Sunday ahead of a trilateral dialogue hosted by President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea.
The three countries, whose senior leadership is gathering for the first time since 2019, are expected to announce cooperation in trade, science and technology, as well as a plan to tackle their aging populations.
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This story was originally published May 27, 2024, 3:47 AM.