Chinese Ships Enter Territorial Waters off Senkakus; Both Equipped with Cannons

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
Foreground to background, the Minami-Kojima, Kita-Kojima and Uotsuri islands of the Senkaku Islands are seen from a Yomiuri Shimbun plane on Sept. 6, 2013.

Two China Coast Guard (CGC) ships entered Japanese territorial waters off the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture in the early hours of Friday, the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) said.

According to the JCG’s 11th regional headquarters, which is based in Naha, the two vessels entered the territorial waters off the coast of Minami-Kojima Island in the Senkaku Islands one after another between 1:56 and 1:59 a.m. on Friday. Both vessels were equipped with cannons.

The CGC also violated Japanese territorial waters on March 14.