4 Chinese Govt Ships Enter Japanese Waters off Senkakus

May 18, 2018

Naha, Okinawa Pref.- Four Chinese coast guard ships crossed into Japanese territorial waters off the Senkaku Islands in the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa on Friday.

It was the first intrusion by Chinese government vessels into Japanese waters off the East China Sea islands since April 23 and the ninth this year.

According to the Japan Coast Guard's 11th regional headquarters, based in Naha, the capital of Okinawa, the four Chinese ships moved into Japanese waters at a point north-northwest of Uotsuri, the largest of the Japanese-administered islands, between around 10:30 a.m. (1:30 a.m. GMT) and 10:45 a.m.

The ships--the Haijing 2101, the Haijing 2307, the Haijing 2401 and the Haijing 33115--left the waters west of the same island between around 11:45 a.m. and noon.

The Senkaku islands are also claimed by China, which calls them Diaoyu. Jiji Press