Japan denounces the entry of two Chinese coast guard vessels into its territorial waters

Aug. 14 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Japanese Coast Guard reported this Sunday the entry of two Chinese ships into the waters of the Senkaku (Diaoyu) Islands, an archipelago disputed by both countries.

The Haijing-type ships entered waters claimed as their own by Japan at 4:10 and 4:15 a.m. on Sunday (9:10 and 9:15 p.m. Saturday, Spanish peninsular time) from the island of Uotsuri, according to the Japanese news agency Jiji Press citing the 11th Coast Guard Barracks based in Naha, Okinawa.

This would be the 17th incursion by Chinese authorities’ vessels into waters claimed by Japan in the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands archipelago region.

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.