The Chinese Coast Coast Guard patrol ships (CCG) entered the territorial waters of the disputed islands located in the eastern China Sea between Japan and China on March 21, and remained a record of 92 hours and 8 minutes, the Coast Guard of Japan (JCG) announced on March 24.
What is intriguing is the moment of this intrusion: it occurred the same day that the Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi came to Tokyo to attend the meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Japan-Core. It was the first visit to Japan by a Chinese Foreign Minister since November 2020.
According to the 11th regional headquarters of the Coast Guard of the JCG in Naha, the capital of the prefecture of Okinawa in Japan, two GCC ships entered the territorial waters of the islands, which are known as Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu Islands in China, around 2 am on March 21. The islands are administered by Japan and China and Taiwan.
Shortly after 2:30 am the next day, two other CCG ships entered the territorial waters of the islands, bringing the total to four GCC ships, the JCG said.
At 11 a.m. on March 24, two of the four ships had left the territorial waters, but the other two continued to sail in territorial waters off the island of Uotsuri / Diaoyu Daoyu, one of the disputed islands, until 10 p.m. the same day, the JCG said.
At four days, he marked the longest stay in territorial waters by any CCG ship since September 2012, when the Japanese government bought three of the islands from a private Japanese owner to put them under the control of the State. The previous record was 80 hours and 36 minutes marked between March 30 and April 2, 2023.
Late at night on March 24, the JCG announced that it “had forced the Coastal Guard ships to leave Japan’s territorial waters around 10:04 pm today”.
It is unusual for the JCG to make such an explicit official announcement. It is largely believed that the announcement was intended to be a counter-measure against the longest intrusion by the GCC in Japanese territorial waters and to appeal to the national and international public on this subject.
When the diplomat asked questions about the declaration of the declaration, a spokesperson for the 11th regional headquarters of the Coast Guard of the JCG said on March 25: “We simply explained the facts.”
In addition to the notable duration involved in this incursion, the Sankei Shimbun of Japan conservative newspaper reported on March 25 that there were eight Chinese coastal guard ships around the disputed islands at a given time on March 24.
It should also be noted that the intrusion started on March 21, when the best Chinese diplomat Wang visited Tokyo and made a courtesy call to the Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru.
What was China’s intention?
March 24, The CCG website has announced That four Japanese fishing boats “illegally entered the territorial waters of the Diaoyu Islands” from March 21 to 24, and that “the Chinese coastal guard ships have taken the necessary control measures against them and warned them in accordance with the law”.
“The Diaoyu Islands and its affiliated islands are the inherent territory of China,” said the GCC, adding: “We urge Japan to stop all illegal activities in the waters immediately.”
In other words, the Chinese explanation is that CCG ships have been forced to intrude the disputed territorial waters to chase Japanese fishing boats.
But this Chinese explanation should be taken with a grain of salt from the Japanese point of view. After all, just before Wang’s arrival in Japan, two Chinese naval warships also approached the territorial waters near the Senkaku / Diaoyu Islands.
On March 21, Japan’s joint personnel announced that the Japan maritime self -defense force confirmed that a destructive of guided missiles from the Chinese people’s Liberation (Plan) of the Luyang II class between March 16 and March 17. 18
The two ships crossed the waters around the island of Uotsuri and went south in the waters between the Japanese island of Yonaguni and Taiwan.
In response, the JMSDF sent the Akizuki and Sendai destroyers, as well as the P-1 and P-3C Patrol planes to monitor and collect information.
During the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee and Defense of the Upper Chamber on March 24, Fukuyama Tetsuro, the opposition legislative and former assistant secretary in chief of the cabinet, stressed that it was a big problem that the Chinese government’s ships had entered the Japanese territorial waters at the meeting of foreign ministers in Japan-China.
In response, Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Iwaya Takeshi said: “It’s really regrettable. We will answer calmly and firmly. ”
During the meeting of foreign ministers, Iwaya expressed its serious concerns concerning the situation at the Sea of Eastern China, including the situation surrounding the Senkaku Islands, as well as the growing activity of the Chinese army, and called for adequate measures of the Chinese party.
Is this another phase of Salami slicing tactics in China of increasing pressure through a series of small movements? Or is it a sign that China adopts a more aggressive approach in and around the periphery of the disputed islands?
Since China’s intentions are not clear, Japan’s suspicions are only growing.