CHINA-JAPAN: CHINA COAST GUARD VESSELS ENTER JAPAN'S TERRITORIAL WATERS ON TWO CONSECUTIVE DAYS
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The Japan Times (February 17) reported that according to the 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters based in Naha, two China Coast Guard (CCG) ships entered Japanese territorial waters off the Senkakus and the Taishojima island at around 4:15 a.m. on February 16. One of the ships CCG vessel 1305 was equipped with what appeared to be a gun. The two ships appeared to be pursuing a 9.97-ton Japanese fishing boat with four crew members aboard when they entered Japanese territorial waters, where they remained for about six hours. The two vessels that entered Japanese territorial waters around Minamikojima island on February 15 also appeared to be pursuing another Japanese fishing boat. At one point, a total of four CCG vessels had split into two groups in pursuit of the Japanese fishing boat. A Japan Coast Guard patrol boat intervened to ensure the safety of the fishing boat. It said the Japanese government is on high alert after incursions by China Coast Guard vessels into Japanese territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture on two consecutive days. Japan is wary of what it views as increasing attempts by China to overturn Japan’s effective control of the Senkakus after the recent enforcement of Chinese coast guard legislation that allows CCG vessels to use weapons.
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