Japan protests to China after ships enter Japan waters near Senkakus

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan lodged a strong protest with China on Friday, with Beijing's envoy to Japan summoned to the Foreign Ministry hours after Chinese fishing boats and coast guard vessels entered Japanese territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.

Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama told Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cheng Yonghua the coast guard vessels' entry into territorial waters around the Senkakus and activities there are a violation of Japan's sovereignty and totally unacceptable, the ministry said.

The coast guard vessels entered Japanese waters soon after the Chinese fishing ships did so around 1:30 p.m. Friday, and the coast guard vessels were then confirmed to be sailing near the fishing vessels, the ministry said.

While protests have been lodged in previous cases at the Foreign Ministry's director-general level against entry by Chinese coast guard vessels into Japanese waters, the protest to China this time was at a higher level.

In explaining why, a Foreign Ministry source said, "Japan cannot accept coast guard ships' actions that seemed to have been accompanying Chinese fishing vessels."

The 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters in Okinawa Prefecture revealed that two Chinese coast guard vessels and six fishing ships were involved in the intrusion into Japanese territorial waters near the Senkakus. It also said this was the first time that both types of vessels had entered the waters at the same time.

The Japanese-controlled uninhabited islets are claimed by China, which calls them Diaoyu.

The incident came as tensions between the two countries in the East China Sea have been escalating.

In June, Chinese warships were seen traversing areas in and near Japanese waters in the East China Sea and the western Pacific, including around the Senkaku islands.