China Sea, Beijing warship in "adjacent waters" to disputed islands

A nearly 4 thousand ton "Jiankai" class war ship touches territorial limits surrounding the Senkaku / Diaoyu and is sighted by a Japanese destroyer. Tokyo calls the ambassador in Beijing to protest, the Ministry of Defence stresses "concern" about the act.

Tokyo (AsiaNews) - The Japanese government this morning called the Chinese ambassador to formally protest after a Beijing warship entered "adjacent waters" around islands disputed between the two countries in the East China Sea .

The "contiguous" represent a ring of two nautical miles just outside the "territorial waters", that is the portion of the sea 12 miles off the coast of an area. However, given that the islands - Diaoyu for the Chinese and Senkaku in Japanese - do not yet have a flag, under international law it is impossible to determine the boundaries.

A Chinese "Jiangkai" class war ship, of nearly 4 thousand tons, was spotted around midnight yesterday by the Japanese destroyer "Setogiri". The Ministry of Defense in Tokyo confirmed the facts and stressed in a dispatch sent to the national media this is "the first time that China has sent a warship into waters adjacent to our [islands] Senkaku and this is a unilateral act fueling tensions. [An act] which concerns our nation".

The tension between the two countries over the disputed islands dates back to 2012, when Tokyo purchased the islands from a private landowner. Since then there have been continuous military provocations, formal protests, popular demonstrations and appeals to the United Nations. However, Tokyo and Beijing have repeatedly called on the international community "not to enter into the merits" of the case and to leave them to resolve it on their own.

• Japan China Senkaku Diaoyu disputed
• islands Eastern
• China
• Sea war
• ship protests
• tensions