Once a month, the Chinese Coastal Guard patrol ships (CCG) make regular incursions in the territorial waters of the disputed islands located in the eastern China Sea between Japan and China, said the Japanese government diplomat, Knowledge of the case, said the diplomat on February 26.
In recent years, four CCG ships have entered the territorial waters of the islands, known as Senkaku Islands in Japan and the Diaoyu islands in China, once a month, which becomes the manager, said the manager.
The Chinese government ships have been making territorial waters around the islands since September 2012, when the Japanese government has nationalized the islands by buying three of them from a private owner.
The islands, which are administered by Japan but claimed by China, consist of five uninhabited islands and three rocky reefs.
The CCG website Publish regular intrusions recordings in the territorial waters of 12 naval miles from the disputed islands each month to demonstrate that they apply the law – and the claim of China to the islands.
More recently, four CCG ships entered the territorial waters around the islands around 10 am on February 12 and left at noon on the same day, according to the Japan Coast Guard (JCG).
The same day, The CCG website has announced This “Fleet of the Chinese Coast Guard 2305 sailed in the territorial waters of the Diaoyu Islands. It was a cruise on the protection of the rights carried out by the Chinese Coast Guard in accordance with the law. »»
Like the February 12 incident, based on JCG’s announcements, most intrusions see the CCG Empiet just after the corners of the territorial waters of the islands and leave within two hours a month. The Japanese government official described these transit passages as “CCG ceremonial actions to create an alibi for his own law applications”.
Separately from that, the CCG also began to Announce cases where he entered the territorial waters around the islands To hunt Japanese fishing boats. The CCG had not previously made announcements on such incidents.
More recently, The CCG announced on its website that “the guards of the Chinese coast expelled Japanese ships which illegally penetrated the territorial waters of China off the Diaoyu Islands in accordance with the law”.
Based on the figures published by the JCG, in 2013, Chinese ships sheltered from the territorial waters of 12 marine miles of the disputed islands on average 4.5 days per month. In 2024, this figure fell to 3.5 days, a decrease of about 22%.
Meanwhile, the number of days of ships from the Chinese government was spotted in the contiguous area of the disputed islands reached a record in 2024 for the third consecutive year. The adjoining area is 12 to 24 nabin miles (22 to 44 kilometers) from the coast.
Data published by the JCG shows that Chinese government ships entered the contiguous area of 355 over 366 days in last year. This is the highest figure since 2008, when official Chinese ships were confirmed for the first time, and an increase of three days compared to the previous 352 -day record set in 2023.
“The Chinese coastal guard patrol ships acted in a reckless manner against the Philippines at the Southern China Sea, but they did not go so far against Japan,” said the head of the Japanese government.
“However, the number of Chinese Coast Guard patrol ships entering the contiguous waters of the Senkaku Islands has increased, and we are still in a serious situation,” said the official.
A diplomat from a Southern Asian country who is also a Chinese observer stressed that in China, the Army, the Air Force and the Navy must all announce their activities to guarantee government budgets, And that the CCG could also try to guarantee a budget by highlighting its activities on the disputed islands.
In all cases, China and Japan must prevent the situation from aggravating in the eastern China Sea by dialogue and consultation. Including the People’s Liberation Army of China and the self -defense forces of Japan, as well as their coastal guards, the two nations must act with restraint with each other and stabilize the situation.