The U.S. Department of Defense urged China not to use maritime police vessels to challenge Japan’s sovereignty claim over the Senkaku Islands and reiterated U.S. support for Japan’s claim to that sovereignty.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby was asked at a press conference Tuesday (Feb. 23, 2021) to comment on the recent entry of Chinese maritime police vessels into the waters of the Senkaku Islands, which are self-proclaimed Diaoyu Islands. He said China continues to disregard international norms, about which the U.S. has clearly expressed concern, and that “we will continue to work with our allies and partners to strengthen the rules-based security order in the Indo-Pacific region and make clear that international waters are international waters.”
Previously, new U.S. Defense Secretary Austin, as well as the previous defense secretary, have stated that the Senkaku Islands are covered by the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty and that the United States continues to oppose any attempt to unilaterally alter the status quo in the East China Sea.
Realizing that he had used the term international waters to describe the Senkakus, Kirby, in response to the next question, acknowledged that he had not been clear in his answer to the previous question and said, “Clearly, we are in agreement with the international community on the sovereignty of the Senkakus, and we clearly support Japan’s claim to that sovereignty. We urge China to avoid the use of maritime police vessels (there), as that would lead to miscalculation and potential substantial harm.”
China implemented a new “maritime police law” on Feb. 1, which for the first Time explicitly allows its maritime police to fire on foreign vessels operating in waters over which China claims sovereignty. Last week, four Chinese maritime police vessels entered the waters of the Senkaku Islands and followed Japanese fishing boats there at close range.
Japan’s Maritime Safety Agency chief Takahiro Oshima said at a press conference on 17, in response to China’s recent implementation of the maritime police law, Japan does not rule out the use of force in the territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands.
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