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NAHA, Japan – Chinese coast guard ships entered Japan’s territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands, claimed by China, for the second day in a row on Sunday.
Japan’s Coast Guard said two Chinese Coast Guard ships intruded into Japanese waters near the group of uninhabited islets around 3:50 a.m.
The raids come after a new law came into effect in China earlier this month that explicitly allows the Chinese coast guard to use weapons against foreign ships that Beijing believes are illegally entering its waters.
After entering Japanese waters on Sunday, the Chinese ships pointed their bows at a Japanese fishing boat and made a move to approach it approximately 22 kilometers south-southeast of Taisho, one of the islets, according to the coast guard.
It is the fifth time this year that Chinese ships have entered Japanese waters, according to the 11th Regional Coast Guard headquarters based in Naha, Okinawa prefecture.
The fishing boat with five people on board has been guarded by patrol boats, while the coast guard has warned Chinese boats to leave the waters immediately, the headquarters said.
As happened on Saturday, two other Chinese coast guard vessels, one of which was equipped with what appeared to be a cannon, sailed in the so-called contiguous area just outside Japan’s territorial waters near the Senkakus, he said.
It was the ninth consecutive day that Chinese ships were sighted near the islets administered by Japan if the contiguous area is included.
Chinese coast guard ships have been regularly dispatched around the Senkakus, especially under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, who aims to make the country a maritime power.
Last year, Chinese ships were confirmed to be sailing in the contiguous area for a total of 333 days, a record high.
In addition to its claim to the Senkakus, which it calls Diaoyu, China has maritime sovereignty disputes with several Southeast Asian countries in the South China Sea and is often criticized for its unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the region.
== Kyodo
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