Four Chinese maritime surveillance ships entered Japan’s territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea again today, the 14th straight day that Chinese ships have sailed near the islands, the Japan Coast Guard said.
The same Chinese ships had intruded into the territorial waters near the Japanese-controlled, Chinese-claimed islands on Tuesday.
When the coast guard warned the Chinese ships not to enter Japan’s territorial waters, one of them responded over the radio that they were “carrying out valid operations in Chinese waters’’.
China has escalated its maritime activities around the islets amid increased bilateral tensions since Japan nationalised the islets in September.