:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/grupoclarin/6QRRE7GX2VCB7KVYFDNZHOCKJQ.jpg "Chinese coast guard orders Japanese fishing vessel to leave area near islands controlled by Japan")
Chinese coast guards have ordered a Japanese fishing boat and several patrol boats to leave the waters surrounding tiny Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea, China’s own coast guard said. It was the latest incident that points to persistent tensions between the two countries.
China claims the islands belong to it and refuses to recognize Japan’s claim to the uninhabited chain known as the Senkakus in Japanese and the Diaoyu in Chinese. Taiwan also claims the islands, which it calls Diaoyutai, but has signed access agreements for its fishermen with Japan and is not actively involved in the dispute.
Chinese Coast Guard spokesman Gan Yu said in a statement that the ships “illegally entered” the waters, prompting its response.
“We urge Japan to immediately stop all illegal activities in the waters and ensure that similar incidents do not occur again,” said the statement, which did not specify whether the ships complied with the order.
China’s insistence on sovereignty over the islands is part of its extensive territorial claims in the Pacific, including undersea resources in the East China Sea, the autonomous island republic of Taiwan with a population of 23 million and virtually the entire China Sea. Southern, through which an estimated 5 billion dollars in international trade passes each year. As with the Senkaku, China largely bases its claims on vague historical precedents. Taiwan, a former Japanese colony, separated from mainland China in 1949 amid the Chinese Civil War.
The islands lie between Taiwan and Okinawa, 330 kilometers (205 miles) from the Chinese coast. After World War II, they were administered by the United States and returned to Japanese sovereignty in 1972.