Chinese surveillance ships enter Japanese territorial waters again
The Asahi Shimbun, 4 October 2012
For the second day in a row, Chinese marine surveillance ships entered Japanese territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands on Oct. 3, a strategy designed to keep the dispute over sovereignty in the international spotlight.
The uninhabited islands, called Diaoyu Islands in China, are effectively controlled by Japan but also claimed by China.
It was the fifth such incident since the Japanese government on Sept. 11 purchased three of the five islands from a private landowner, making them state property.
Japan Coast Guard vessels are continuing to patrol the waters to guard against the intrusions becoming routine.
According to the coast guard, three Chinese marine surveillance ships entered Japanese territorial waters one after another some 22 kilometers east-southeast of Kubashima island from 12:35 p.m.
The vessels made their way to areas south of the island and departed Japanese territorial waters by 3:20 p.m.
Prior to the Sept. 11 decision, there were only three intrusions this year into Japanese territorial waters by Chinese surveillance ships.
Chinese fishery surveillance ships also implemented on-the-spot inspections of Chinese fishing boats operating in Japan’s exclusive economic zones around the Senkaku Islands on Oct. 3.
The fishery surveillance ships clearly intended to show that China regards itself as having sovereignty over the islands. Similar incidents occurred on Sept. 20, 21 and 22.
The Japan Coast Guard is maintaining a strong presence in the area. It dispatched 50 or so patrol boats to nearby waters in mid-September.
“We are preparing for the possibility of a prolonged standoff,” said a coast guard officer. “The only way to deal with the situation is with patience.”
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Oct. 3 that Chinese surveillance ships would continue their patrol activities there as tit-for-tat over a recent intrusion “into waters around the Diaoyu Islands” by Japanese rightists.
“What is the purpose of the Japanese rightists? Why is the Japanese government letting them do what they like?” Hong added.
The same day, Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Genba complained about the latest incident in Japanese territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands.
“We want China to exercise self-restraint so that we can talk about this issue in a clam atmosphere,” Genba said in a news conference.
Shinsuke Sugiyama, head of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, also lodged a protest with the Chinese Embassy in Japan.
In the Oct. 3 news conference, Genba said: “We hope things will calm down in a peaceful manner. We cannot concede what we cannot concede. But we want to look for what is possible.”
Genba also took note of a decision by Chinese customs authorities to confiscate Japanese newspapers airlifted to Beijing from Japan.
“For both Japan and China, it will be a loss to impair economic and cultural exchanges. We want China to deal with the issue in a calm manner.”
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN