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Fan Chen

Chinese coastguard vessels began patrols of the contested waters off the Diaoyu Islands on Wednesday, a day after Beijing said it had removed a buoy near the islands, known in Japan as the Senkakus.
The Chinese coastguard said the purpose of the patrols was to protect China’s rights and interests in accordance with the law.
But Tokyo said it lodged a diplomatic protest after four Chinese coastguard ships were spotted in the region, calling the incident “unacceptable”.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said the latest incident was “a violation of international law”.
“It is truly regrettable and unacceptable that the Chinese coastguard vessels entered the Japanese waters around the Senkaku Islands,” Hayashi said on Wednesday afternoon.
“We will do our utmost in carrying out warning and surveillance activities and respond to China in a calm yet resolute manner.”
China conducts frequent patrols near the Diaoyus and began this series after China’s foreign ministry confirmed that a buoy deployed close to the archipelago northeast of Taiwan since July 2023 had been removed.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Tuesday the deployment of a hydrometeorological observation buoy complied with China’s domestic and international laws.
“The buoy in question has completed its operations at its original stations,” Guo said.
The removal of the buoy follows a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Peru in November, which set off a thaw in ties.

Beijing and Tokyo have also been working on relaxing a seafood import ban imposed after the release of treated waste water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea in August 2023.
Hayashi said he would “refrain from making any prejudiced comments regarding the background and circumstances of this matter”, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported on Wednesday morning.
Japan confirmed the buoy had been deployed inside its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) near the islands in the East China Sea in July 2023. Japan had lodged a protest and repeatedly demanded the buoy be removed. China claims sovereignty over the group of uninhabited islands and does not recognise them to be inside Japan’s EEZ.
It was not the first time that tensions had flared between Beijing and Tokyo over Chinese buoys. Japan accused China of installing a buoy in Japan’s EEZ in the same area of the East China Sea in 2018.




In December, Japan detected another buoy near Yonaguni Island and demanded its removal. But Beijing, citing “meteorological purposes”, has refused to comply.
According to the Asahi report on Wednesday, Hayashi said no particular movements had been observed in the area. “We will continue to seize every opportunity to strongly demand the immediate removal of the buoy,” Hayashi was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, in Washington during their first meeting on Friday, Ishiba and US President Donald Trump pledged to stand together against Chinese “aggression”.
According to a joint statement issued by the White House, both men expressed their opposition to China’s military actions in the South and East China seas.
They also called for “maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait”, and voiced support for “Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organisations”.
Beijing said the references to Taiwan amounted to “open interference in China’s domestic affairs, and an attack and smear against China”, and lodged protests with the US and Japan.


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China-Japan relations

China launches patrols near disputed Diaoyu Islands after removing contentious buoy

A day after China removed a controversial buoy from waters around the Diaoyu Islands, the coastguard confirmed that it had begun patrols in the area. Photo: Japan Out

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands during their meeting on the sidelines of the Apec summit in Lima in November. Photo: Handout

As China looks to rebuild bridges with Japan, will ‘better relations’ last beyond Trump?

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands ahead of their talks in Lima on November 15. Photo: Kyodo

A China Coast Guard vessel sails near a Japan Coast Guard vessel off Uotsuri Island, one of a group of disputed islands called Senkaku Islands in Japan, also known in China as Diaoyu Islands, in the East China Sea. Photo: Kyodo via Reuters

Travellers wait in line to check in for flights to Japan at Beijing Capital International Airport. Chinese President Xi Jinping has expressed a “strong commitment” to advancing people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. Photo: Kyodo

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The Diaoyu Islands, which Japan administers and calls the Senkakus, are seen in the East China Sea. Photo: Kyodo/Reuters

A Chinese coastguard ship sails near a Japanese vessel near the Diaoyu Islands, which Japan calls the Senkakus. Photo: Kyodo/Reuters

US servicemen board a military transport in Okinawa. More than 50,000 US troops are stationed in Japan. Photo: EPA-EFE

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Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (left) meets Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing on December 25. Photo: AP

Takeshi Iwaya (left) in talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi (right) in Beijing. Photo: Kyodo

Japan calls Chinese buoy in its southern continental shelf ‘regrettable’

A Chinese navy ship sails through Japan’s territorial waters in the East China Sea. Photo: AFP

News

China

Diplomacy

Japan lodges diplomatic protest, calling coastguard activity a ‘violation of international law’


Japan lodges diplomatic protest, calling coastguard activity a ‘violation of international law’.
