On the morning of the 16th, off the coast of the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture, four vessels of the Chinese Coast Guard entered the territorial waters of Japan to match the movements of two Japan fishing boats. The Japan Coast Guard has deployed patrol boats to ensure the safety of fishing boats and continues to warn Coast Guard vessels to leave territorial waters immediately.
According to the 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters, from around 16:6 a.m. to 40 a.m. on May 7, four Chinese coast guard vessels that were sailing in the contiguous zone just outside the territorial waters of the Japan entered territorial waters one after another to match the movements of two Japan fishing boats off the coast of Minamikoshima and Uotsuri Island.
As of 4 a.m., the four vessels were sailing in waters about 2 to 4 kilometers away from the fishing boats to match the movements of two fishing boats sailing in territorial waters about 7 kilometers south of Uotsuri Island.
The Japan Coast Guard has deployed patrol boats around the area to ensure the safety of fishing boats, and the Japan Coast Guard continues to warn them to leave territorial waters immediately.
This is the eighth confirmed incident in which a Chinese coast guard vessel has entered Japan's territorial waters off the coast of the Senkaku Islands, following the 19th.