CHINA-JAPAN: NAVAL PATROLS NEAR DIAOYU
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Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper said on December 31, 2014, that under direct orders from Chinese President Xi Jinping, China's patrol ships in the East China Sea have begun coming closer than ever to the disputed Diaoyutai (Diaoyu or Senkaku) islands from mid-December. The newspaper noted that while since August the Chinese ships had generally kept at a distance of 200 km from the islands, or at what has been called the "halfway line" between China and Japan, however since mid-December this policy saw a sudden shift with two patrol boats coming within 27 km north of the Diaoyutai's surrounding waters and within 70 km of the islands themselves.
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