Between a Taiwanese fishing boat and a Japanese coast guard vessel
China’s Foreign Ministry lambasted Japan yesterday after a confrontation between a Taiwanese fishing boat and a Japanese coast guard vessel near a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea.
“The Diaoyu Islands and attached islets have been Chinese territory since ancient times, and China has incontrovertible sovereignty over them,” ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in a brief statement on the ministry’s website (www.mfa.gov.cn).
“Any actions taken by Japan in the seas around the Diaoyu Islands are illegal and invalid,” he added, referring to the incident with the fishing boat.
China and Japan have bickered for years over the group of uninhabited islets in the East China Sea, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, which are also claimed by Taiwan.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told a news conference in Tokyo that the Japanese Coast Guard found a Taiwanese fishing boat approaching the islands and warned the boat not to enter Japanese waters.
“From the viewpoints of history and international law, there is no doubt that the Senkaku islands are our inherent territory,” Edano said.
Source: The Peninsula