Japan claims more Chinese ships tried to enter its territory in 2021 compared to 2020

Many Chinese ships attempted to approach Japan's territorial waters off the Senkaku Islands, which Japan claim their own in the East China Sea in 2021, as the Japanese coast guard suggests. As per the reports of NHK World, on Monday, Japan Coast Guard officials claimed that 18 occurrences of Chinese government warships approaching Japanese vessels were documented in 2021, up from eight cases in 2020. Both Asian economic giants have asserted territorial claims to the Senkaku Islands. Japan is adamant about retaining control of the islands.

Senkaku island has been the reason for tension between the two Asian countries, as China continues to increase its presence in the waters surrounding the island. The islands are under Japan's authority as the Japanese government believes that it is a part of Japanese territory. In the meantime, they are claimed by both China and Taiwan.

China is expanding its marine activity

China is expanding its marine activity as in 2021, Chinese ships sailed within the contiguous zone outside Japan's territorial waters for 332 days, nearly matching the previous year's record of 333 days, according to ANI. The country approved a law in February 2021 that allows its coast guard to forcibly remove foreign ships that it claims illegally enter the country's waters, and to use firearms against them if they do not comply with certain commands.

An expert on international maritime law stated that China's efforts could increase further. Kobe University Professor Emeritus Sakamoto Shigeki said that China seeks to weaken Japan's effective control of the islands by cracking down on Japanese fishing boats, according to NHK World. Given the Chinese threat, by fiscal 2025, Japan intends to add ten big patrol vessels to its fleet.

The patrol ships approached a Japanese fishing boat

Recently on December 20, local media claimed that Chinese patrol ships entered the disputed Senkaku Islands. Two Chinese ships were first detected in the contiguous zone before entering what Japan claims as its own territory near the islands, according to NHK. The patrol ships approached a Japanese fishing boat. Japan maintains sovereignty over the islands, which has been in place since 1895, while China points to Japanese maps from 1783 and 1785 that show the islands as Chinese territory.

(Inputs from ANI)

Image: AP