Japan said on Monday it would respond firmly after Chinese government vessels had intruded into what Tokyo considers its territorial waters near disputed islands in the East China Sea 14 times at the weekend, stoking bilateral tensions. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Tokyo would continue to urge China not to escalate the East China Sea dispute, while also responding firmly and calmly. Suga told a news conference that a total of 14 Chinese government vessels had entered "contiguous waters", which can be policed for customs and immigration violations, in recent days and intruded into what Japan considers its territorial waters 14 times. Twelve Chinese vessels remained in the area early on Monday, he said. Agencies including the Coast Guard would act together closely to deal with the situation, Suga said. Chinese activity near the islands, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China, has heated up since Friday, prompting repeated Japanese protests, including … [Read more...] about Japan urges China not to escalate East China Sea tension
East china sea
China says Japan trying to ‘confuse’ South China Sea situation
China on Monday accused Japan of trying to "confuse" the situation in the South China Sea, which Vietnam calls the East Sea, after its neighbor said it would step up activity in the contested waters, through joint training patrols with the United States. Ties between Asia's two largest economies have long been overshadowed by arguments over their painful wartime history and a territorial spat in the East China Sea, among other issues. China has repeatedly denounced what it views as interference by the United States and its ally Japan in the South China Sea. Japan will also help build the capacity of coastal states in the busy waterway, its defense minister said last week during a visit to Washington. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said countries in the region had reached a consensus that the South China Sea issue should be resolved through talks between the parties directly involved, and that China and Southeast Asian countries should jointly maintain peace and … [Read more...] about China says Japan trying to ‘confuse’ South China Sea situation
U.S. would welcome Japan air patrols in South China Sea World
The United States would welcome a move by Japan to extend air patrols into the South China Sea as a counterweight to a growing fleet of Chinese vessels pushing Beijing's territorial claims in the region, a senior U.S. Navy officer told Reuters. Currently, regular patrols by Japanese aircraft only reach into the East China Sea, where Tokyo is at loggerheads with Beijing over disputed islands. Extending surveillance flights into the South China Sea will almost certainly increase tensions between the world's second- and third-largest economies. "I think allies, partners and friends in the region will look to the Japanese more and more as a stabilizing function," Admiral Robert Thomas, commander of the Seventh Fleet and the top U.S. navy officer in Asia, said in an interview. "In the South China Sea, frankly, the Chinese fishing fleet, the Chinese coast guard and the (navy) overmatch their neighbors," Thomas said. China’s foreign ministry said it had no immediate comment on the … [Read more...] about U.S. would welcome Japan air patrols in South China Sea World
Chinese carrier enters South China Sea amid renewed tension
A group of Chinese warships on Monday led by the country's sole aircraft carrier entered the top half of the South China Sea, which Vietnam calls the East Sea. The carrier group has passed south of Taiwan, the island's Defence Ministry said of what China has termed a routine exercise. The move comes amid renewed tension over Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own, ineligible for state-to-state relations, following U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's telephone call with the island's president that upset Beijing. The Soviet-built Liaoning aircraft carrier has taken part in previous exercises, including some in the South China Sea, but China is years away from perfecting carrier operations similar to those the United States has practised for decades. Taiwan's Defence Ministry said the carrier, accompanied by five vessels, passed southeast of the Pratas Islands, which are controlled by Taiwan, heading southwest. The carrier group earlier passed 90 nautical miles south of Taiwan's … [Read more...] about Chinese carrier enters South China Sea amid renewed tension
Japan plans to send largest warship to East Vietnam Sea, sources say
TOKYO – Japan plans to dispatch its largest warship on a three-month tour through the East Vietnam Sea beginning in May, three sources said, in its biggest show of naval force in the region since World War Two. China claims almost all the disputed waters and its growing military presence has fueled concern in Japan and the West, with the United States holding regular air and naval patrols to ensure freedom of navigation. The Izumo helicopter carrier, commissioned only two years ago, will make stops in Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka before joining the Malabar joint naval exercise with Indian and U.S. naval vessels in the Indian Ocean in July. It will return to Japan in August, the sources said. "The aim is to test the capability of the Izumo by sending it out on an extended mission," said one of the sources who have knowledge of the plan. "It will train with the U.S. Navy in the [East Vietnam Sea]," he added, asking not to be identified because he is not … [Read more...] about Japan plans to send largest warship to East Vietnam Sea, sources say