The Japanese government sent two separate protest notes to China after Chinese ships entered the territorial waters of the Senkaku islands (Diaoyu Islands in China), which are a subject of a territorial dispute between Tokyo and Beijing
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th June, 2023) The Japanese government sent two separate protest notes to China after Chinese ships entered the territorial waters of the Senkaku islands (Diaoyu Islands in China), which are a subject of a territorial dispute between Tokyo and Beijing.
"By the Chinese navy ships and their navigation is something we have the grave concerns and also in territorial waters and territorial airspace we have prepared for the patrol activities," Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Thursday.
Matsuno noted that the first protest note was sent though diplomatic channels after it was confirmed that a Chinese research vessel had entered the territorial waters around the Senkaku islands. The second protest note was sent after Chinese patrol vessels followed.
Matsuno also called such actions unacceptable.
Both Japan and China have extended territorial claims over the Senkaku Islands. Japan insists on its sovereignty over the islands effective since 1895, while China points to the 1783 and 1785 Japanese maps designating the islands as Chinese territory. After World War II, the Senkaku Islands went under the control of the United States and were passed on to Japan in 1972.
Japan believes that China's sovereignty claims over the islands follow the discovery of valuable minerals in their shelf waters in the 1970s. The territorial dispute escalated in 2012, when the Japanese government purchased three of the five islands from a private owner, thereby confirming Japan's affiliation with the islands.
