China’s maritime police on Wednesday accused Japanese ships of “illegally entering” the waters of the disputed Diaoyu Islands (Japanese name for the Senkakus), and called on Japan to stop “illegal activities.”
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On Wednesday, several Japanese ships “illegally entered China’s territorial waters in the area of the Diaoyu Islands,” according to a statement from China’s maritime police department. It is noted that the PRC maritime police ships “have taken the necessary control measures in accordance with the law.”
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“We urge Japan to immediately stop all illegal activities in this maritime area and ensure that similar incidents do not happen again,” Chinese Maritime Police Department spokesman Gan Yu said on Wednesday.
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There is an ongoing territorial dispute between Japan and China over the Senkaku (Diaoyu) Islands in the East China Sea. Japan claims to have occupied them since 1895; Beijing recalls that on Japanese maps of 1783 and 1785, Diaoyu is designated as Chinese territory. After World War II, the islands were under US control and were transferred to Japan in 1972, along with the island of Okinawa. Taiwan and mainland China believe Japan is holding the islands illegally. Japan is convinced that the islands have always been an integral part of Okinawa Prefecture and belong to it by right.
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The territorial issue between China and Japan particularly strained relations between the two countries after the Japanese government bought three of the five uninhabited islands, which Beijing considers Chinese territory, from a private Japanese owner in 2012. In 2018, a warming was expected in relations between the two countries after the visit of then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to China, during which he met with Xi Jinping and then Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Li Keqiang.
