Chinese Ships Near Senkakus Mark Record High


Chinese ships near Senkakus mark record high

This year has seen a record high number of days that Chinese government ships have sailed just outside Japan's territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.

The Japan Coast Guard said that as of 9:00 a.m. on Monday, four Chinese vessels were sailing in waters off Kubashima, one of the Senkakus. The area is in the contiguous zone just outside of Japan's territorial waters.

The coast guard is warning the ships not to enter Japan's waters.

This brings the number of days that Chinese government ships have sailed in the contiguous zone off the Senkaku Islands this year to 283 days, breaking last year's record of 282 days. The figure is the highest since record keeping began in 2008.

Japan controls the Senkaku Islands. China and Taiwan claim them. The Japanese government maintains the islands are an inherent part of Japan's territory, in terms of history and international law. It says there is no issue of sovereignty to be resolved over them.

As for intrusions, Chinese government ships have entered Japan's territorial sea on 24 days this year.

In October, two Chinese patrol ships entered and remained in Japan's waters for more than 57 hours, and tried to approach a Japanese fishing boat. It was the longest intrusion into the waters in eight years.