Defense & Security

China Coast Guard Ships Leave Japanese Waters after 31 Hours

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
The Defense Ministry head office in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo

Jiji Press

12:23 JST, April 7, 2024

Naha, Okinawa Pref. (Jiji Press)—Two Chinese coast guard ships stayed in Japanese territorial waters off the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, for about 31 hours before leaving the waters on Saturday night.

The Haijing ships entered Japanese waters off the East China Sea islands on Friday and attempted to approach a Japanese fishing boat.

This was the eighth intrusion by a Chinese government vessel into Japanese waters off the islands this year, and the first since March 30.

The two Chinese ships entered Japanese waters near Minamikojima in the Senkaku chain around 12:20-25 p.m. Friday and left the waters south-southeast of the island around 7:20 p.m. Saturday, according to the Japan Coast Guard’s 11th regional headquarters in Naha, Okinawa.

The Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands are claimed by China, where they are called Diaoyu.