Latest news with #DiaoyuIslands
South China Morning Post
23-06-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Japan flags 216 days of Chinese intrusions near East China Sea islands
Japan has spotted Chinese vessels sailing near disputed islets in the East China Sea for a record 216 consecutive days, according to Tokyo's coastguard. Advertisement The Tokyo-administered islets, known as the Diaoyu Islands in China and Senkakus in Japan, have long been a sore point between the neighbours. On Sunday, Japan said it observed four Chinese coastguard vessels sailing in the 'contiguous' zone, referring to a 12-nautical-mile (22km) band that extends beyond Japan's territorial waters. Last year, Chinese vessels sailed near the Tokyo-administered island chain more than 350 times , including for a period of 215 consecutive days, a Japanese coastguard spokesman said. Japanese officials regularly protest against the presence of the Chinese coastguard and other vessels in the waters surrounding the disputed islands.
South China Morning Post
18-06-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Is China preparing to seize Diaoyu Islands? Japan ex-army chief warns of ‘absorption' plans
A former Japanese military chief has warned that Beijing's increasingly assertive moves around disputed islands in the East China Sea could be setting the stage for a Chinese landing operation. While analysts broadly agree that Beijing is seeking to expand control over the Diaoyu Islands , they differ on how close China might be to launching an outright takeover, with some warning of growing military preparations and others cautioning that a full-scale assault remains premature. In an interview with the conservative Sankei newspaper published on Monday, Kiyofumi Iwata, who previously served as the Japanese Ground Self-Defence Force's chief of staff, said 'the next logical step would be a landing and absorption' of the islands, which are known as the Senkakus in Japan. The uninhabited islets, long a flashpoint in Sino-Japanese ties, are controlled by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing. A Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force surveillance plane flies over the disputed Diaoyu Islands. The islands, long a flashpoint in Sino-Japanese ties, are controlled by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing. Photo: AP Iwata pointed to China's growing maritime presence around the islands over the past two years, including the frequent entry of Chinese coastguard vessels into Japanese territorial waters.
South China Morning Post
12-06-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Japan to boost air and sea surveillance around remote islands with mobile radar units
Japan is to deploy mobile radar units to enhance its surveillance capabilities at sea and in the air around its most remote islands, the announcement coming just days after two Chinese aircraft carrier groups were detected conducting drills off the east coast of mainland Japan. Advertisement Defence Minister Gen Nakatani outlined the new measure during a press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday, although no timeline for the deployment was given and the locations of the new radar units were not confirmed. Experts suggest it is possible that the deployments may be of additional units to islands that already have radar capabilities, such as the outlying islands of Okinawa prefecture and Minamitori island, the most easterly point of Japan and close to where one of the Chinese fleets was seen operating at the weekend. It is unlikely that radar will be placed on the disputed islands in the East China Sea, which are controlled by Tokyo but are claimed by Beijing, which refers to the archipelago as the Diaoyu Islands. Tensions are already high around the uninhabited islands, with Chinese coastguard vessels a near-constant presence within Japan's territorial waters, and experts say any sort of military buildup would only inflame the situation further. The atoll of Okinotorishima, Japan's most southerly point. Photo: Japan's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry / AFP The atoll of Okinotorishima might be under consideration, although that could also prove to be contentious. Advertisement The island lies 1,080km south of Tokyo but only has 9.44 square metres of land above water, and that is only because it has been raised with concrete blocks. Nevertheless, the atoll is Japan's most southerly point and enables Japan to claim an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) covering the surrounding 400,000 sq km of ocean.
South China Morning Post
11-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Why Japan's coastguard has a recruitment problem
The Japanese coastguard continues to experience a manpower shortage as its ability to safeguard the country's sovereignty over disputed islands could be affected by the exit of hundreds of its staff. Advertisement A total of 389 people voluntarily resigned from the coastguard in 2024, according to a report in the Yomiuri newspaper, bringing its staff strength down to 14,123 as of the end of the financial year on March 31. The personnel who left were six fewer compared with the same period a year earlier, partly due to an aggressive recruitment campaign. But there are concerns that more may leave the service this year. Since 2013, the coastguard has been seeking to recruit more people to counter a rise in intrusions by Chinese vessels into waters around the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea. The islands are presently controlled by Japan , which refers to them as the Senkaku archipelago. 'The coastguard is facing a similar challenge to the Self-Defence Forces, although there are some differences,' said Garren Mulloy, a professor of international relations at Daito Bunka University and a specialist in military issues. Advertisement 'One of the most fundamental problems for the coastguard is that by its nature, personnel are away from friends and family for extended periods, which makes it less appealing as a career choice,' he told This Week in Asia.
