Japan denounces for the second consecutive day the presence of Chinese ships in the Senkaku Islands

July 5. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Japanese authorities have denounced this Tuesday for the second consecutive day the presence of Chinese ships in waters near the disputed islands of Senkaku, known in China as Diaoyu and which are under the control of Tokyo.

Japan Coast Guard officials say the vessels entered the waters off Uotsuri Island around 4:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday, apparently trying to approach a Japanese fishing vessel operating in the area. , as reported by the Japanese chain NHK.

Therefore, Japanese patrol boats have been sailing near the fishing boat to ensure its safety and warning Chinese ships to immediately leave Japan’s territorial waters.

According to the aforementioned media, it is the twelfth time so far this year that Chinese government ships have been seen entering Japanese waters off these islands. On Monday they denounced the presence of Chinese and Russian ships in waters near the disputed islands of Senkaku.

Japan claims that the five islands have been part of its territory since 1895 and did not belong to anyone before, but China maintains that on Japanese maps of 1783 and 1785 the archipelago is identified as Chinese territory and that it had belonged to the Chinese Empire.

However, Tokyo attributes the Chinese claims to the discovery in the 1970s of significant hydrocarbon reserves in the area. The islands are also claimed by Taiwan.