Japan protested the entry of a Chinese research vessel into Japan’s exclusive economic zone and drove it away.
Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun reported Monday that a Japanese Coast Guard patrol boat spotted the Chinese “Marine Geology 12” conducting survey activities in an area 102 nautical miles south of Japan’s Hateruma Island on Sunday morning.
Hateruma Island is an uninhabited island in the southernmost part of Japan, which is part of Okinawa Prefecture and lies within Japan’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.
The Japanese Coast Guard patrol boat thought the Chinese vessel was conducting illegal activities and ordered the Chinese vessel to stop and leave at midday, the report said. The “Marine Geology 12” carried out the order.
The report said this is the first time since July 2019 that a Chinese marine research vessel has entered local waters.
The Japanese government protested to Beijing through diplomatic channels on the same day, the report said.
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