Chinese coast guard vessel 1307, seen here in August 2025, entered Japan's territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands twice this week. (Japan coast guard)
Chinese coast guard vessels entered waters Japan claims around the disputed Senkaku Islands while chasing a Japanese fishing boat this week amid heightened tensions between Tokyo and Beijing.
Two vessels came within 12 miles southwest of Minamikojima at around 5:30 a.m. Monday while pursuing the fishing boat, according to a Japan coast guard news release that day. They departed at 7:20 p.m. the next day, according to a separate release Tuesday.
The Senkakus are administered by Japan but claimed by China and Taiwan. The area reportedly holds a wealth of natural resources, including fish, oil and natural gas.
Twelve miles marks a country’s territorial limit at sea. Two other Chinese ships were seen in Japan’s contiguous zone, which extends 24 miles from the territorial baseline, according to the coast guard.
On Wednesday, four Chinese coast guard vessels — including the pair that entered the territorial limit on Monday — made another incursion shortly after 4 p.m., according to a Japan coast guard release that day. The Chinese vessels departed after about two hours.
In both instances, the Chinese vessels were met by a larger contingent of Japanese vessels that used electronic message boards to warn them to leave the area, a coast guard spokeswoman said by phone Thursday.
The purpose of Wednesday’s incursion is unclear, she added.
“There were no fishing boats operating around the Senkakus on Wednesday, and we do not clearly know why they intruded,” she said. Some Japanese government officials must speak to the press only on condition of anonymity.
Some members of the Yaeyama Fisheries Cooperative Association, which represents fishermen on Ishigaki island, have reported informal coast guard requests to stay away from the Senkakus, the association’s managing director, Kokichi Irabu, told Stars and Stripes last month.
Ishigaki is about 95 miles southeast of Uotsuri Island, the largest of the Senkakus.
Japan and China square off frequently over the five small, uninhabited islands and three reefs off Taiwan’s northeastern tip. Tokyo frequently accuses Beijing of harassing Japanese fishing boats there and sends its coast guard to intercede.
“The activities of Chinese coast guard vessels, such as navigating in Japanese territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands while making their own claims, are a violation of international law,” said Tuesday’s release.
The incidents marked the fourth and fifth incursions this year, according to the coast guard.
In 2025, Chinese coast guard vessels entered Japanese territorial waters around the islands 27 times, the agency said. They also sailed in the contiguous zone around the Senkakus a record 357 times that year.
Tensions between Japan and China have risen in recent months.
During a November parliamentary session, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Tokyo could use military force if Beijing attacks Taiwan. Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged to unify the democratic island with the mainland, by force if necessary.
