Asia-Pacific
Chinese warships cross waters near Japan island
Stars and Stripes
October 16, 2012
Tokyo city officials and experts survey Uotsuri Island, one of the islands of Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, in the East China Sea early Sunday, Sept. 2, 2012. Tokyo city officials planning to buy tiny islands at the center of a longtime territorial dispute with China surveyed the area and took water samples Sunday in a showcase meant to send a message of ownership. (Kyodo News/AP)
TOKYO -- Japanese aircraft have spotted seven Chinese warships in waters off a southern Japan island and about 125 miles from the uninhabited isles at the center of a territorial dispute between the two countries.
Japanese officials say the ships were sighted about 30 miles from the island of Yonaguni, in Japan's Okinawa prefecture (state). The ships were believed to be returning to China after training in the Pacific.
Japan considers the area part of its contiguous waters, but it is not illegal for foreign vessels to transit them.
Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto said Japan is monitoring the ships' movement.
China and Japan have stepped up their naval activities in the area around Okinawa because of the dispute, but there have been no clashes between their warships.