Chinese ships once again approach disputed islands: Japan’s coast guard
Iran Press TV
Mon May 13, 2013 8:11AM GMT
Japan’s coast guard says it has detected three Chinese ships in the waters around the disputed islands in the East China Sea.
The coast guard said that the Chinese maritime surveillance ships entered the 12-nautical-mile zone off the islands, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, shortly after 9:00 a.m. local time on Monday (0000 GMT).
Japan and China have long been in a dispute over the sovereignty of the uninhabited islands, which are located near a crucial shipping lane and would give the owner exclusive oil, mineral and fishing rights in the surrounding waters.
On September 11, 2012, Tokyo signed a deal to buy three of the islands from their private Japanese owner in line with plans to nationalize the archipelago.
In late April, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tokyo would “expel by force” any Chinese individuals landing on the islands, following an incident where eight Chinese vessels entered the disputed waters.
DB/HSN
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