Tensions Rise as Four Armed Chinese Ships Enter Japanese Territorial Waters

Four Chinese coast guard ships entered Japanese territorial waters in the East China Sea.

Bloomberg reported the news.

The vessels entered waters near the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture, an area Beijing claims as disputed.

According to the Japanese Coast Guard, the Haijing-class ships entered waters near Minamikojima, part of the Senkaku archipelago, between 10:15 and 10:30 a.m. on Sunday and left the area around noon.

Tensions between Tokyo and Beijing have increased after Japan’s new Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, said this month that the use of military force in a conflict over Taiwan could be considered a “survival-threatening situation.”

This classification provides Japan with legal grounds for possible intervention.

Despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties with Taipei, Japan opposes unilateral attempts to change the status quo and calls for the dispute between China and Taiwan to be resolved peacefully.

Takaichi did not explicitly say Japan is prepared to use military force in the event of an escalation over Taiwan, but her stance is clearer than that of previous governments and indicates how Tokyo could assess a potential Chinese attack.

Beijing, in turn, accused Takaichi of interfering in its internal affairs and demanded that she retract her statement, while Tokyo has stood by its position.

In the summer, it was reported that Chinese J-15 carrier-based fighter jets had carried out dangerous maneuvers near Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force P-3C patrol aircraft for several consecutive days.

The incidents occurred amid unprecedented activity by China’s two aircraft carriers, Liaoning and Shandong, which were observed operating simultaneously in the western Pacific for the first time.

During one of the incidents, a Chinese aircraft approached a Japanese aircraft at a distance of just 45 meters, creating a potentially dangerous situation.