TOKYO, Oct. 11, 2020—Two Chinese Coast Guard boats Oct. 11 morning crossed into Japanese territorial waters around Taisho Island, one of Senkaku Islands, trying to approach Japanese fishing boats operating there, apparently to intimidate the fishing boat crew, and a Japanese Coast Guard ship intervened between the ships, a spokesman for the 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters said.
It was the first time since Aug. 28 that Chinese coastguard ships entered the Japanese sovereign waters around Senkaku, the spokesman said. It also marked the 18th time that Chinese coast guard ships invaded into Japanese waters around the islands.
The two Chinese patrol ships crossed into the Japanese waters near Taisho Island, one of Senkaku Islands, at 10:47 or 10:48 a.m., Oct. 11, where Japanese fishing boats were operating, and chased after the Japanese vessels repeatedly. The Japanese coast guard ships warned the Chinese ships to leave the waters, and as of late Oct. 11, the two Chinese ships were idling at a location about 4-5 nautical miles south of Taisho presumably to resume their chasing operations when the Japanese coast guard ships leave the area, the spokesman said.
In response, the Japanese government formed a special office reporting directly to the prime minister Oct. 11, the government said.
On Oct. 3, the Chinese government posted on its website that it had opened a digital museum showing with videos and photos of Chinese sovereignty over the islands. Japan’s Suga cabinet said Oct. 5 that it had lodged complaints with the Chinese government. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman brushed off the Japanese complaint saying that the islands are Chinese territory and that the Japanese claims were ‘illegal.’
China’s maritime expansion in search of resources and footholds is accelerating to the point of becoming almost unstoppable. Not only is Chinese coast guard ships spotted more frequently around Senkaku, dozens of Chinese fishing boats are operating there, sometimes invading into Japanese waters and approaching Japanese fishing boats dangerously closely, according to recent Japanese media reports.
Across the Pacific, along South American coastal lines, hundreds of large Chinese fishing boats were ferociously catching fish, including Equador coasts, and around Galapagos Islands, this summer.
Japan’s Sankei newspaper reportedly recently that the Chinese are hacking into Japanese coast guard and fishing boat radios to find times and spots around Senkaku when the Japanese are not there, so that the Chinese can perform shipping operations under Chinese coast guard protection.
Chinese ships, including coast guard ships and some fishing boats, are believed to equipped with guns and weapons but it was not independently confirmed by the Japanese government.
Skirmishes?
As the U.S.-China relationship is set to further strain after the November presidential election, theories go that conflicts are unavoidable and Senkaku can be one of the possible locations in the vast East China Sea. In a Senkaku conflict, if ‘something happens, the U.S. military based in Okinawa and 7th Fleet ships can reach there immediately,’ one theory holds.
The U.S. has repeatedly said until about 10 years ago that Senkaku Islands were Japan’s undisputed sovereign territory.
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