Stephen Stapczynski SStapczynski
August 6, 2016 — 12:23 AM EDT Updated on August 6, 2016 — 8:25 AM EDT

Japan’s government made an official demand for vessels from China that
are surrounding a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea to
leave and not return, saying their presence could cause escalated
tensions between the two nations.

The waters surrounding the islands contained six Chinese Coast Guard
ships and about 230 Chinese fishing vessels as of about 8:05 a.m. Tokyo
time, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in an e-mailed statement
Saturday. The government made the demand to the Chinese embassy in
Tokyo, according to the statement.

China is taking measures to manage the situation and “strongly” hopes
that Japan treats the matter calmly and doesn’t take actions that may
intensify or complicate the situation, Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a statement posted on its
website on Saturday.

China regularly sends Coast Guard vessels into Japanese-administered
waters around the disputed islands, also known as Senkaku in Japanese
and Diaoyu in Chinese.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-06/japan-says-chinese-vessels-near-disputed-islands-should-leave

A Chinese coast guard vessel sails near the disputed islands on Aug. 6.
Source: Regional Coast Guard Headquarters via AP