China’s Coast Guard Patrols Senkaku Islands: What It Means for Japan-China Relations?
Daniel Kim Views
▲ Chinese Coast Guard vessel navigating waters near the Senkaku Islands
The Chinese Coast Guard has dispatched vessels to patrol the Senkaku Islands (known as Diaoyu Islands in China), an area of territorial dispute with Japan.
Today (10th), the Chinese Coast Guard announced via social media that the Coast Guard vessel 2503 fleet conducted a patrol within the territorial waters of the Diaoyu Islands. They stated this was a rights protection patrol activity carried out by the Chinese Coast Guard in accordance with the law.
The Senkaku Islands, effectively controlled by Japan, are a region where China and Japan are at odds, with both claiming sovereignty.
The Chinese Coast Guard’s patrols have been a factor in escalating diplomatic and security tensions between China and Japan.
China has been sending coast guard ships almost daily in recent times, recording 357 days of patrols near the Senkaku Islands last year. When Japan makes statements or actions that seem to infringe on China’s so-called ‘core interests’, China often publicizes these patrols as a show of force.
The timing of this patrol announcement coincides with the landslide victory of the Liberal Democratic Party, led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, in the recent House of Representatives election on the 8th.
Since Prime Minister Takaichi’s remarks last November suggesting intervention in a potential Taiwan crisis, China has been playing its Japan offensive cards. However, with Takaichi’s power base strengthened by the election victory, China is now openly expressing its discomfort through government briefings and state media.
(Photo=Yonhap News)
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