Chinese surveillance vessels were spotted today in an area just outside Japanese territorial waters around the disputed Senkaku Islands for the third straight day, the Japan Coast Guard said.
The four vessels entered the so-called contiguous zone near the Japan-administered islands, claimed by China, at around 8:30 am, after leaving the area last evening, according to the 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture.
Japan and China have been locked in a bitter dispute over the sovereignty of the Senkakus, called Diaoyu in China, especially since the Japanese Government decided in mid-September to nationalise three of the five main islands in the group.