Japan’s coast guard reports that it expelled two Chinese coast guard ships from waters near the Senkaku Islands (known as Diaoyu in China), a group of uninhabited islands that both countries claim. Japan says the Chinese vessels were approaching a Japanese fishing vessel operating in the area. Japanese officials describe the incident as occurring in the context of a long-running territorial dispute between Japan and China.
Multiple outlets also report that the encounter includes competing accounts from both sides. Hong Kong Free Press and Times of India describe a tense face-off in which each side says it warned and drove out the other’s vessels. According to the coverage, China’s coast guard is presented as having objected to a Japanese fishing boat, while Japan characterizes the Chinese coast guard ships as having intruded into Japanese-controlled waters.
The dispute over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands remains a recurring flashpoint in the East China Sea, and the reported expulsion occurs amid broader strains in Japan–China relations.
