Chinese vessels increasingly intrude in Japanese waters after the entry into force of the new Chinese law

A Chinese Coast Guard patrol vessel, equipped with what appear to be cannons, is seen in October in the contiguous area of ​​Japan around the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa prefecture. Courtesy of the 11th Regional Headquarters of the Coast Guard

TOKYO – In the month since China enacted its Coast Guard Act, legislation that stipulates conditions for the use of weapons by its coast guard, Chinese patrol boats increasingly intruded into Japan’s territorial waters. around the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture.

A total of 14 Chinese marine patrol boats entered Japanese waters from February 1 to the night of February 28, according to the 11th Naha-based Coast Guard regional headquarters. That compares with six in January and zero to 12 per month last year.

On almost every occasion in February, Chinese vessels tracked Japanese fishing vessels operating in the area. Some of the Chinese vessels were equipped with what appeared to be cannons.

Chinese patrol vessels “have approached Japanese fishing boats more often than ever,” said a Japanese coast guard official.

There is no indication that China will stop its provocative activities in the waters around the Senkaku Islands. The Japanese government wants to exert international pressure on China by convincing the world that the Chinese coastguard law is problematic under international law.

China unilaterally claims the territorial rights of the Senkaku Islands. Chinese patrol boats have been demanding that Japanese fishing boats leave the waters by radio and electronic notice boards.

China’s coast guard law gives its maritime patrol agencies the authority to force ships from other countries to leave China’s jurisdictional waters. It also stipulates that weapons can be used if China’s sovereignty or jurisdiction is violated.

“The coast guard law contains ambiguous provisions regarding the applicable and problematic maritime areas in terms of the authority to use weapons and consistency with international law,” Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said at a press conference on Friday, reiterating his criticism. to the law.

The Japanese government is wary of a situation in which Chinese ships claim that the area around the Senkakus is “Chinese territorial waters” and use weapons against fishing boats and other boats. To avoid such a situation, the Japanese government has been protesting through diplomatic channels whenever there is an intrusion into its territorial waters, and has been trying to cooperate with Europe and the United States.

In a teleconference conducted on February 19 by the leaders of the Group of Seven countries, in which the main topic of discussion was measures to combat the new coronavirus, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga deliberately raised the question of the seas of the eastern and southern China in an effort to share awareness of the problem.

Suga’s efforts paid off, as a spokesman for the US Department of Defense warned against China’s provocative activities at a press conference on February 23.

Another sign of concern within the Japanese government and ruling parties was the government’s legal interpretation in late February that the Japan Coast Guard and Self-Defense Forces could fire “damaging shots” that could injure the other party if a ship Chinese approaches the Senkaku Islands with the purpose of landing there.

According to diplomatic sources, China is expected to use small vessels loaded onto coast guard ships to pursue Japanese fishing vessels in the future. This is because Coast Guard law stipulates that other equipment and tools may be used on site.

A senior official in the Japanese Defense Ministry said: “If the Chinese coast guard, which is scattered in the South China Sea, gathers around the Senkakus, the Japanese Coast Guard will be no match for them.”

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