© Reuters.
BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s overseas ministry on Thursday countered Japan’s territorial claims over disputed waters within the East China Sea, calling the transfer a “grave violation” of Chinese sovereignty.
“Chinese coast guard vessels carried out law enforcement on the scene in accordance with the law, it is a legitimate measure to safeguard Chinese sovereignty,” spokesperson Wang Wenbin advised reporters at a daily press briefing.
Wang made the remarks in response to a query on Japan’s coast guard saying Chinese coast guard vessels violated Japanese territorial waters across the disputed East China Sea islets.
The space is claimed by each China and Japan and has lengthy been a sticking level in bilateral ties. China calls the islands Diaoyu whereas Japan calls them Senkaku.
China’s coast guard stated on Wednesday it entered the waters round disputed East China Sea islets to counter what it known as the incursion of Japanese vessels into Chinese territorial waters.
China Marine Police spokesperson Gan Yu stated in a press release that coast guard vessels entered the waters of the Diaoyu for a “normal rights protection patrol” calling it a “routine move”.
“(This also）is a strong countermeasure to the Japanese side’s intrusion of one yacht and several patrol vessels into our territorial waters,” Gan stated, although he didn’t specify any incident.
China’s coast guard stated in late January that the Shinsei Maru and 4 different Japanese ships illegally entered the territorial waters of the Diaoyu islands earlier than being pushed away by Chinese coast guard vessels.
On Thursday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will maintain a summit with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Tokyo, the primary such assembly in Japan in additional than a decade, at a time when the United States hopes the 2 neighbours can type a extra united entrance towards Beijing.
