China's coast guard sent ships into the waters off the Japan-held Senkaku Islands on Wednesday for the 14th time this year as Beijing's maritime agency continued to enforce its territorial claims against the longtime U.S. treaty ally.
In a brief statement on its social media channels, the China coast guard said the operation to "assert rights" was led by the 3,450-ton Zhaoyu-class patrol cutter Haijing 1301.
The same day, the Japanese coast guard's regional headquarters in Naha, capital of Okinawa prefecture, which administers the islands, reported the presence of four Chinese ships, including one armed with a suspected autocannon.
The vessels patrolled waters claimed by Japan for roughly two hours, according to Japan's coast guard, referring to the declared territorial sea 12 nautical miles from the coast of the island group, and the contiguous zone an additional 12 nautical miles beyond that.
The uninhabited Senkaku islets are known as Diaoyu in Beijing and Diaoyutai in Taipei, which also claims the rocks on its official maps. The Chinese government has ramped up coast guard patrols around the islands since Tokyo nationalized them in 2012.
China's coast guard, which has no publicly available contact information, could not be reached for comment.
The maritime law enforcement agency, which was merged into a unified command only a decade ago, has spearheaded Beijing's assertion of territorial rights in neighboring waters, including in the Taiwan Strait and in the South China Sea.
In the East China Sea, China has sent coast guard vessels into Japan's claimed contiguous zone around the Senkaku islets every day since December 22, a run of 139 days up to May 8, according to Newsweek's analysis of the Japan coast guard database.
Previously, a brief pause in activity in mid-December ended a streak of Chinese vessel sightings at the Senkakus lasting a record 339 consecutive days.
In April, Japan reported 118 Chinese coast guard vessels in its claimed maritime zones in the island group, including 13 inside its territorial sea.
The United States officially does not take a position on sovereignty over the islets, but it recognizes Japan's administration of the territory, and is treaty-bound to defend Japanese forces should they come under attack there.
President Joe Biden reaffirmed the U.S. security commitment last month when he hosted Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House.
In an exclusive interview with Newsweek shortly thereafter, Kishida said China's "untransparent" military buildup and its "unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force" were a serious cause for concern.
"I think we are facing the most challenging and complex security environment since the end of World War II," he said.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
John Feng is Newsweek's contributing editor for Asia based in Taichung, Taiwan. His focus is on East Asian politics. He ... Read more
