Chinese ships intrude in Japan’s territorial waters

Japan Coast Guard says ships tried to approach Japanese fishing boat near Minamikojima island but made to turn around by Japanese patrol ships

ANKARA (AA) – Two Chinese vessels in the early hours on Friday entered Japan's territorial waters around a chain of disputed islands in the East China Sea, local media said.

The Japan Coast Guard officials said the ships entered the waters off Minamikojima island around 2:40 a.m. local time (1740GMT Thursday) after navigating in the contiguous zone just outside the territorial waters with two other Chinese government ships, Japanese Broadcaster NHK reported.

The ships were trying to approach a Japanese fishing boat operating in the territorial waters about 21 kilometers (13 miles) off Minamikojima island, however they left after Japan's patrol ships demanded that they leave its territorial waters immediately, according to the broadcaster.

The incident occurred just a week after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for the first time in person at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Organization (APEC) Summit in Thailand.

Beijing and Tokyo are at odds over Japan's Senkaku Islands, which Beijing claims and refers to as the Diaoyu Islands.

* Writing by Islamuddin Sajid

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