Chinese Patrol Boat Enters Japanese Waters
A Chinese patrol ship entered Japanese territorial waters near Okinawa on Saturday and harassed Japanese survey ships:
A Chinese government vessel on Saturday asked a coast guard survey ship operating in Japan’s exclusive economic zone to stop its activities, coast guard officials said.
The survey ship was located about 280 km north-northwest off Okinawa Island when the request was made at 7:40 a.m. The ship notified the Chinese vessel of the purpose of its activities and continued surveying operations for nearly two more hours, according to the coast guard.
Japan later lodged a protest to China over the incident through diplomatic channels, it said.
The intrusion into Japanese waters is likely a response to Japan’s seizure of a Chinese trawler that rammed two Japanese coast guard ships near the Senkaku Islands. China has also called off talks with Japan over a joint gas field development pact.
If you don’t know much about China’s territorial dispute with Japan, here is a video from the Economist that explains the situation [hat tip to Magus]:
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