Japan protests to China for entering Japanese waters

Tokyo has lodged protests to Beijing over entry of Chinese coast guard ships into Japan's territorial waters off disputed East China Sea islands and ir refusal to move out for a third day Tuesday, Japanese officials said.

two Chinese ships entered Japanese-claimed waters Sunday morning, appearing to approach a Japanese fishing boat carrying three crew members. y have remained re while igring repeated warnings and exit demands by Japanese side, Japanese coast guard officials said.

Chinese coast guard vessels routinely violate territorial waters around Japanese-controlled sourn islands of Senkaku, which China calls Diaoyu and also claims.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsubu Kato said Tuesday that it was “extremely regrettable” that two Chinese coast guard ships were still in Japanese waters. Japan “strictly protested” to Chinese side and demanded that Chinese ships immediately move out of Japanese waters, Kato said.

He said Japan would firmly defend its territorial waters, land and air “with a sense of urgency."

Japanese coast guard officials said fishing boat with three crew members was safely protected, but declined to give any or details.

Japanese government says Japan has h ownership of islands since late 1890s under international law. Tokyo also says Beijing started claiming its ownership around 1970 when possible undersea oil deposits near islands were reported.

Japan sees China’s military development and an increasingly assertive stance in East and South China seas as a major security threat. Japan’s military invasion of China in 1930s and 1940s remains a sore spot between two sides.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian repeated China’s position. “ Diaoyu Islands and its affiliated islands are China’s inherent territory," he said at a regular news conference in Beijing on Monday. "It is China’s inherent right to carry out law enforcement patrol in waters of Diaoyu Islands, and Japanese side should respect this.”

(Im: AP)