Japan Complains of Chinese Surveillance Ships

Not getting along so well

The Japan Coast Guard said that three Chinese surveillance ships entered its territorial waters off the Senkaku Islands yesterday, just a few hours after China's fisheries patrol boats sailed into the area in the morning. A statement made by the coastguard also said that three marine surveillance ships passed through the 12-nautical-mile territorial zone off Uotsuri, one of the Senkaku islands, shortly before one o'clock in the afternoon.

Just recently, on February 18, the coastguard also said that three patrol vessels of China came closer to Japanese territorial waters. The vessels looked as if they were chasing a fishing boat. It really does seem as though China is getting more and more aggressive when it comes to these islands, which they refer to as Diaoyu. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe maintains a firm stand on China as regards this matter. He said that Japan "simply cannot tolerate any challenge now and in the future" to its control over the islet. "No nation should make any miscalculation or underestimate the firmness of our resolve."