Chinese Ships Spotted Near Disputed Island Chain In Japan

Chinese Ships Spotted Near Disputed Island Chain In Japan

The coastguard of Japan indicated that a pair of Chinese-flagged sea vessels entered its territorial waters close to the disputed island chain found in the East China Sea. Japan calls the island chain Senkanu while the Chinese refer to it as Diaoyus.

According to the coastguard, one of the vessels entered the waters close to the islands at about 1:32 PM. The second vessel entered the waters around twenty minutes after.

A coastguard aircraft patrolling the area spotted the two vessels entering the waters near the disputed island chain.

No other statements were issued by the spokesman of the coastguard. Following the nationalization of the disputed island chain last September, a number of Chinese vessels have entered the waters near them. Last December 21, Chinese sea vessels were sent into the area following the landslide victory of the Liberal Democratic Party in the elections in Japan.

Shinzo Abe, the newly elected prime minister of Japan is aiming to restore relations between Tokyo and Beijing. However, China is not expected to change its claims on the disputed island chain, a number of analysts have indicated. China will likely continue to send vessels into the waters to attract the attention of the world.

Last December, a Chinese aircraft entered the airspace at the disputed island chain, which resulted to the scrambling of fighter jets by Japan.

Posted by James Fried on Tuesday January 01 2013, 5:19 AM EST. Ref: Asia One. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0