Japan has lodged a protest against Beijing on Friday after four-armed Chinese coastguard vessels carrying what appeared to be cannon entered its territorial waters in the East China Sea surrounding the disputed islands.
The Japanese government said it was the first time that four Chinese vessels will come that far into the waters which Tokyo calls the Senkaku and Beijing calls the Diaoyu.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a press conference that he was not in a position to state what the Chinese side’s intentions are, but the intrusion of vessels belonging to China’s coastguard into their territory is a breach of international law.
Hayashi further stated that Tokyo lodged a strong protest through diplomatic channels calling for a swift exit from the area, after the four vessels stayed in the area for more than an hour and left shortly after midday.
China’s coastguard said separately that it had patrolled the waters with vessels carrying weapons.
The two countries have repeatedly faced off around the uninhabited Japanese-administered islands.
China’s run-ins with the Philippine navy have also been escalating in disputed areas of the South China Sea.
