Chinese Ships Leave Japanese Territorial Waters

More activity over disputed islands

All four Chinese maritime surveillance vessels that entered Japanese territorial waters off the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands on Tuesday had left the area by late afternoon, the Japan Coast Guard said.

The four vessels were out of the area by around 5:20 p.m. after sailing into Japanese territorial waters about 22 km off Uotsuri, the biggest islet in the group in the East China Sea, in the early afternoon, the coast guard said.

Foreign Minister Koichiro Genba told a news conference that the government lodged a complaint with China over the intrusion.