Two Chinese coastguard ships won’t leave what Japan considers to be its territorial waters near a group of uninhabited islets in the East China Sea, Japan said on Tuesday.
The two Chinese vessels have remained near the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands for a record length of time since Sunday morning, though Japanese authorities repeatedly urged them to get out of the area, an official at the Japan Coast Guard told dpa.
Tokyo lodged a protest with Beijing over the ships which also approached a Japanese fishing boat, government spokesman Katsunobu Kato told a news conference on Monday.
China and Taiwan also claim the islets, where they are known as Diaoyu and Tiaoyutai, respectively.
China’s move comes days after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo travelled to Japan to hold talks with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Tuesday, even though US President Donald Trump was hospitalized following a positive coronavirus test.
Pompeo and Motegi also held talks with the top diplomats from India and Australia in Tokyo and the four countries’ partnership called the Quad agreed to boost cooperation as China has stepped up its territorial claims in the South and East China seas.
