Japan, China coast guards each claim expulsion near islands

Japanese and Chinese coast guard vessels engaged in a tense standoff near disputed islands in the East China Sea on Tuesday, July 7, with each nation claiming it had successfully expelled the other's ships from its territorial waters. The incident occurred near the uninhabited islands known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China, a long-standing territorial flashpoint located between Taiwan and Okinawa.

According to Japan's coast guard, four Chinese coast guard ships were operating in the area, with two of them entering what Japan considers its territorial waters while approaching a Japanese fishing vessel. The Japanese authorities said they issued orders for the Chinese ships to leave and successfully forced them to exit by approximately 9:20 a.m. local time. The coast guard deployed patrol ships around the fishing vessel to ensure its safety and described the Chinese vessels' actions as a violation of international law.

China's coast guard offered a sharply different account, stating that a Japanese fishing boat, identified as the Zuihou Maru, had intruded into Chinese territorial waters. The Chinese agency said its vessels took necessary measures to warn and expel...