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Japan Calls China Coast Guard Moves in EEZ Near Yonaguni Unacceptable
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Monday that China Coast Guard vessels navigating Japan’s exclusive economic zone south of Yonaguni Island and making unilateral claims are unacceptable. Japan has protested the activities through diplomatic channels.
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Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Monday that China Coast Guard vessels have been navigating intermittently within Japan’s exclusive economic zone south of Yonaguni Island and making unilateral claims to the waters. Kihara called the moves unacceptable and said Japan has repeatedly lodged protests with China through diplomatic channels.
The activities occurred in waters east of Taiwan that Beijing claims as its own territory.
Two China Coast Guard ships earlier this month told the Japan Coast Guard via radio that the waters fall under China’s jurisdiction, according to NHK reporting. Kyodo News reported Sunday that China Coast Guard ships have begun escorting Chinese public vessels in the same EEZ, based on ship-tracking data analysis.
The moves follow an agreement last month between Japan and the Philippines to begin formal talks on delimiting their maritime boundary in the EEZ and continental shelf in accordance with international law.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reached the agreement at a summit. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has described the planned talks as completely illegal, null and void.
