Latest news with #EastChinaSea
Japan Times
2 days ago
- General
- Japan Times
Japan and Philippines agree to strengthen defense cooperation
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro on Sunday agreed to further strengthen cooperation between Japan's Self-Defense Forces (SDF) and the Philippine military amid China's intensified military activities in the East and South China seas. Japan and the Philippines will use the bilateral framework of strategic dialogue between unit operation officers, which the two defense ministers agreed to establish at their meeting in February. At the beginning of Sunday's meeting with Nakatani in Singapore, Teodoro said Japan and the Philippines must enhance deterrence and oppose actions they do not want, with China in mind. The two ministers confirmed the expansion of joint exercises following the signing of a reciprocal access agreement to facilitate visits to each other's country by the SDF and the Philippine military. China has repeatedly intruded into Japanese waters off the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea and has territorial disputes with the Philippines in the South China Sea. Japan and the Philippines, at a summit meeting in April, confirmed the importance of the early conclusion of an information protection agreement and the start of negotiations on an acquisition and cross-servicing agreement. Through the strengthening of its relationship with the Philippines, Japan hopes to increase the effectiveness of multilateral cooperation, including that involving the United States and Australia. Also on Sunday, Nakatani held talks with Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles. They discussed the Australian Navy's plan to introduce new frigates, and Nakatani urged the Australian side to select the Maritime SDF's Mogami-class destroyers. "If adopted, the interoperability between the SDF and the Australian military will be further enhanced, which is of great strategic value to both countries," Nakatani told reporters after the meeting. On the same day, Nakatani also met separately with the defense ministers of Thailand, New Zealand and Malaysia to confirm the promotion of defense cooperation. On Saturday, the Japanese defense minister held separate talks with his counterparts from France and Singapore.
The Independent
4 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Japan Coast Guard rescues injured crew from Chinese ship near contested waters
Japan 's coast guard has dispatched a patrol vessel to rescue an injured crewmember of a Chinese survey ship in the contested waters in southwestern Japan, officials said Friday. The Chinese survey ship Ke Xue requested the rescue by the Japan Coast Guard on Wednesday, saying that one of the crewmembers suffered a hand injury during the survey operation in the area off the southern coast of Miyako Island, according to the JCG. The JCG patrol vessel picked up the crewmember, a Chinese national in his 40s, from the survey ship and transported him to Naha on the main Okinawa island for hospital treatment. The Ke Xue is one of a number of Chinese survey vessels that operate in waters in the East China Sea, where China has increasingly stepped up maritime activity and routinely sends survey vessels, coast guard ships, as well as warships and aircraft, often violating Japanese territorial waters and airspace. Japanese officials said that on Monday, another Chinese survey ship lowered a wire into the sea known as the Japanese exclusive economic zone — an area where Japan claims rights to conduct economic activity — east of Japan's southernmost island of Okinotorishima, without permission from the Japanese government. The JCG patrol aircraft warned the survey ship to move out of the waters, and the Japanese government lodged a protest to the Chinese side.
Associated Press
4 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
Japan Coast Guard rescues injured crew from Chinese ship near contested waters
TOKYO (AP) — Japan's coast guard has dispatched a patrol vessel to rescue an injured crewmember of a Chinese survey ship in the contested waters in southwestern Japan, officials said Friday. The Chinese survey ship Ke Xue requested the rescue by the Japan Coast Guard on Wednesday, saying that one of the crewmembers suffered a hand injury during the survey operation in the area off the southern coast of Miyako Island, according to the JCG. The JCG patrol vessel picked up the crewmember, a Chinese national in his 40s, from the survey ship and transported him to Naha on the main Okinawa island for hospital treatment. The Ke Xue is one of a number of Chinese survey vessels that operate in waters in the East China Sea, where China has increasingly stepped up maritime activity and routinely sends survey vessels, coast guard ships, as well as warships and aircraft, often violating Japanese territorial waters and airspace. Japanese officials said that on Monday, another Chinese survey ship lowered a wire into the sea known as the Japanese exclusive economic zone — an area where Japan claims rights to conduct economic activity — east of Japan's southernmost island of Okinotorishima, without permission from the Japanese government. The JCG patrol aircraft warned the survey ship to move out of the waters, and the Japanese government lodged a protest to the Chinese side.
Japan Times
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Chinese aircraft carrier conducts fighter jet operations in East China Sea
Japan's Defense Ministry has announced for the first time that China sent its Liaoning aircraft carrier into the East China Sea, some 200 kilometers from the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands, for practice deploying fighter jets. The Defense Ministry's Joint Staff Office said in a statement late Sunday that the Chinese carrier was sailing alongside four destroyers in the waters north of Kuba Island in the Senkaku chain, which is also claimed by Beijing, where the islets are known as the Diaoyu. The Liaoning was conducting take-off and landing operations involving both fighter jets and helicopters Sunday, the ministry said, adding that Air Self-Defense fighters had been scrambled in response, though there were no reported violations of Japanese airspace. The Japanese Defense Ministry has previously announced training involving the Liaoning and other Chinese warships in the Pacific Ocean, but this is the first known instance of the carrier doing so in the East China Sea. Japan nationalized the Senkakus in 2012 and has also agreed with the United States that they are covered under Article 5 of the U.S.-Japan security treaty, which obliges the U.S. to defend Japanese territories. But while the Japanese side effectively controls the islands, China has worked to establish a track record of 'law enforcement' activities around the Senkakus as part of a concerted effort to press its claim to the area, which is rich in fish stocks and is also believed to be home to oil and gas deposits. Concerns in Tokyo have surged after a China Coast Guard helicopter violated Japan's territorial airspace around the Senkakus earlier this month, following a flight by a small Japanese civilian plane in the area. This was just the fourth such incursion into Japanese airspace by a Chinese aircraft and the first by a helicopter. That comes in addition to the continued presence of Chinese government ships in the waters. As of Monday, China has sent government vessels to the area for 189 straight days. Last year, Beijing sent ships around the Senkakus for a record 355 days. The moves around the Senkakus, however, have been just a part of China's push to flex its military muscle in the area in recent months — moves that have ratcheted up tensions between the neighbors. Last September, the Liaoning entered Japan's contiguous waters for the first time. Those waters extend up to 24 nautical miles (44 km) from Japan's coastline, where it can take certain measures under international law. This followed the first foray into Japanese airspace by a Chinese military aircraft. Beijing later claimed that the aircraft incursion was accidental. Meanwhile, Chinese state-run media said that the country's third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, is holding intensive sea trials, with experts saying that the vessel is expected to test its electromagnetic catapult technology before its eventual commissioning. The carrier's new aircraft launching system will enable it to significantly increase its daily sortie rate, greatly enhancing its ability to seize air and maritime supremacy, Cao Weidong, a Chinese military affairs expert, was quoted by state-run broadcaster CCTV as saying.
NHK
25-05-2025
- Politics
- NHK
Chinese fighter jets take off from, land on aircraft carrier off Senkaku Islands
Japan's Defense Ministry announced on Sunday that the Chinese Navy's aircraft carrier Liaoning sailed in the East China Sea off the coast of the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture. The ministry says fighter jets took off from the carrier and landed on it. The ministry said Liaoning and four other ships were confirmed to be sailing in the ocean about 200 kilometers north of Kubashima Island at around 7 a.m. on Sunday. It said fighter jets and helicopters were confirmed taking off and landing on the Liaoning. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force scrambled fighter jets. There was no violation of Japan's airspace. This is the first time the defense ministry has announced takeoffs and landings of fighter jets using a Chinese aircraft carrier sailing in the East China Sea. The ministry said Japan is going through diplomatic channels to express interest in the recent stepped-up activities of the Chinese military. On May 3, a China Coast Guard helicopter violated Japan's territorial airspace around the Senkaku Islands, and the ministry continues surveillance in the area.
