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China on Thursday indicted a Japanese vessel for illegally entering contested waters, promoting heightened tensions in an already volatile maritime dispute.
China’s coastguard however ordered the vessel to vacate its territorial waters after it “illegally” entered a disputed area near the East China Sea islands.
A spokesperson for Beijing’s coastguard, Liu Dejun, said they “took necessary control measures in accordance with the law, warned [the ship] and expelled it” during the incursion near the Diaoyu Islands, which Japan refers to as the Senkaku Islands, on October 15 and 16.
“We urge the Japanese side to immediately stop all illegal activities in these waters," Dejun stated.
Japan has not yet responded to the latest incident in the disputed waters.
But Japanese government has consistently rejected China’s claims over the uninhabited islands, which are believed to have potential undersea oil and gas reserves.
Tensions between Japan and China in the disputed waters have been high, with several confrontations in recent months.
In April, China’s coastguard confronted Japanese lawmakers conducting an inspection near the islands, an act China described as “infringement and provocation.”
In June, Japan filed a protest against Beijing after Chinese vessels, allegedly armed with cannons, entered what Japan claimed as its territorial waters.
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled against China’s claims to the South China Sea, declaring them invalid under international law.
