Japan’s Kyodo news agency, citing the Japan Coast Guard, noted that Chinese ships entered the contiguous zone near the Diaoyu Islands again on February 28, stressing that this was the 16th consecutive day that Chinese ships entered the area, Sputnik reported.
This has once again caused anxiety and has a lot to do with China’s maritime police law that has been in effect since February 1. The Chinese maritime police law gives the maritime police the right to fire on foreign vessels in waters over which China claims sovereignty.
According to Kyodo News, Chinese maritime police vessels entered Japanese territorial waters of the Diaoyu Islands for six days from February 1 to 26, double the three days in January. In addition, The Japanese side counted that Chinese ships entered the contiguous zone of the Diaoyu Islands 333 times last year. The Japanese side is quite alert to this.
The Japanese government stated at a security meeting on February 25 that if a Chinese Coast Guard vessel tries to land on the Diaoyu Islands, the Japanese side will consider it a vicious crime and may fire “danger shots” at the other side. This shows that the dispute between Japan and China on the Diaoyu Islands may escalate to a dangerous situation.
Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said on February 27 that the Senkaku Islands (i.e. China’s Diaoyu Islands) are undoubtedly Japanese territory and must be effectively defended. On other occasions, Defense Ministry officials have said that a single shot in the waters of the Senkaku Islands could develop into a large-scale military operation.
The U.S. Department of Defense on Feb. 23 claimed to support Japan on the sovereignty of the Senkaku Islands and urged China to exercise restraint. But U.S. Defense Department spokesman Kirby clarified in a statement Feb. 27 that U.S. policy on the sovereignty issue has not changed and recognizes Japan’s administrative jurisdiction over the Diaoyu Islands, but this is not an endorsement of Japan’s sovereignty over the islands.
On the Chinese side, official media, including the Global Times, reported this tense stance between China and Japan. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin also said at a Feb. 24 press conference that the Diaoyu Islands and its subsidiary islands are inherent Chinese territory and urged the U.S. and Japan not to harm third-party interests.
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