Chinese Surveillance Ship Enters Japanese Territorial Waters

On February 12, a Chinese naval surveillance ship entered Japanese territorial waters near the southwestern islands of Kagoshima Prefecture, marking the latest incident since December, according to Kyodo News Agency, citing Japan's Ministry of Defense.

The research vessel entered Japanese waters southwest of Yakushima around 02:30 local time, the ministry stated, noting that this represents the seventh entry of a Chinese research ship into Kagoshima's coastal waters since November 2021.

The Japanese government has expressed its concerns to Beijing through diplomatic channels regarding the ship's activities, as mentioned in the ministry's statement. The vessel departed the territorial waters near Kuchinoshima island around 04:10, approximately 50 kilometers southwest of Yakushima.

Chinese ships have frequently entered Japanese territorial waters or navigated through adjacent areas, especially near the Senkaku Islands (a group of islands in the East China Sea controlled by Japan), media reports indicate. China's growing military presence in the South China Sea has become a source of contention with certain countries in the region, attributed to the overlapping territorial claims with its neighbors.