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Japan protests to China over ‘territorial violation’ in East China Sea

In this photo, released by the 11th Regional Coastguard Headquarters of Japan, a Chinese coastguard vessel sails near disputed islands in the East China Sea, August 6, 2016. (By AP)

Japan has protested to China over the entry earlier of Chinese coastguard vessels into disputed territory in the East China Sea.

Japan’s marine officials said on Sunday that four Chinese coastguard ships entered waters surrounding Senkaku Islands around 10:00 am local time (0100 GMT) and left the waters within two hours.

A government official in Japan said that Tokyo had filed a protest with China’s Foreign Ministry, saying the islands were “an inherent territory of Japan.”

The uninhabited islands lie about 220 kilometers west of Taiwan and are controlled by Japan but are also claimed by China, which calls them Diaoyu.

A group of disputed islands, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, is seen in the East China Sea. (File photo)

Beijing is locked in a territorial row with Tokyo over the uninhabited yet strategically-important island group in the East China Sea. Ties between the two sides deteriorated after Tokyo nationalized part of the resource-rich islands in 2012.

China maintains that it has indisputable sovereignty over them. The Japanese government, instead, regards them as a part of its territory.

China is also involved in maritime disputes in the South China Sea. Recently, a Hague-based court of arbitration ruled in a case brought by the Philippines that China’s claims to sovereignty over the disputed areas in the South China Sea or its resources “had no legal basis.”

Tokyo has no claims to territory in the South China Sea but has urged Beijing to respect the court ruling.


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