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The Japanese Coast Guard said on Monday that more Chinese ships were trying to enter the country’s territorial waters off the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. According to Japanese coastguard officials, 18 cases of Chinese government ships approaching Japanese ships were confirmed in 2021, up from eight cases in 2020, NHK World reported.
Tensions have intensified in the recent past between Japan and China over Senkaku Island amid increasing Chinese activity in the waters surrounding the islands. Japan controls the islands. The Japanese government maintains that they are an integral part of Japanese territory. Meanwhile, China and Taiwan are claiming them.
The Japanese Coast Guard also reported 34 cases of Chinese government ships sailing in Japanese waters last year. That’s 10 more than the year before, NHK World reported. Chinese ships sailed the contiguous area outside Japanese territorial waters for 332 days in 2021, almost the same as the record of 333 days the year before.
China is increasing its maritime activities. Last February, the country promulgated a law allowing its coast guards to forcibly remove foreign ships it claims are entering the country’s waters illegally, and to use weapons against them if they fail to comply. certain orders, NHK World reported. An expert in international maritime law said China’s actions could escalate further.
Kobe University professor emeritus Sakamoto Shigeki said China intends to undermine Japan’s effective control over the islands by cracking down on Japanese fishing boats, NHK World reported. In view of the Chinese ante, the Japanese coastguard is stepping up their vigilance. It plans to add 10 large patrol vessels to its fleet by fiscal year 2025. (ANI)
(This story was not edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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