Chinese patrol ships still in Japanese waters marking longest intrusion: Report

The Japanese coast guard on Tuesday, October 13 said that the two Chinese vessels that had entered the country's territorial waters off Senkaku islands on Sunday are still present. According to news agency ANI, this is the longest intrusion into the Japanese waters by the Chinese side in the last eight years as the last time a similar kind of incident took place was in 2012 when the Japanese government had bought some portion of the islands from a private owner.  

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18 incursions in 2020

As per the report, Japan has deployed patrol boats in the area and is continuously asking the vessels to move from the Japanese territorial waters. China has reportedly made 18 incursions into the Japanese waters this year. According to Japan Coast Guards, there were three Chinese ships in total but only two of them entered Japanese territorial waters. The incident happened shortly before 11 am (local time) on October 11, following which the Coast Guards immediately asked the vessels to return back.

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The last time Chinese ships entered Japanese waters was on August 28. In May this year, Chinese vessels entered the Japanese waters near Senkakus for two consecutive days. A similar incident was reported in July when two Chinese patrol ships entered Japan's waters off the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. 

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Senkaku islands is a group of uninhabitable islands claimed by China, Japan, and Taiwan, however, it is administered by Tokyo since 1972. In recent years, China’s maritime activities have risen manifold especially in the South China Sea and the East China Sea, where Senkakus are. China's rise in incursions can be attributed to the US Naval activities in the Indo-Pacific, which Beijing sees as a threat to its influence in the region. 

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(With input from ANI, Image Credit: AP)