Chinese Coast Guard vessels entered the waters around the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) — called the Senkaku Islands in Japan — on 336 days last year, the Japan Coast Guard said in a report on Friday.
The group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea is claimed by Taiwan, Japan and China.
The annual report has in the past few years focused on the actions of the Chinese Coast Guard, whose vessels have entered the contiguous maritime zone surrounding the Diaoyutais. A contiguous maritime zone refers to waters extending up to 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the coast.
Photo: Reuters
The number of days with Chinese intrusions in the waters around the Diaoyutais reached a new high last year with 336, rising from the previous year’s 332 days, the report said.
Chinese Coast Guard vessels continuously remained in the waters for 138 days last year, compared with 157 days in 2021, the report said.
They have accumulated 103 continuous days of movement around the islands since the beginning of this year, it added.
Japanese security experts said these figures indicate that China is “normalizing” its coast guard activities in the area, which could be the sign of a possible “Taiwan emergency.”
They urged the Japanese government to improve its defenses for such a contingency.
The term “Taiwan emergency” was used by former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, who in 2021 said that “a Taiwan emergency is a Japanese emergency, and therefore an emergency for the Japan-US alliance,” and that “an armed invasion of Taiwan would be a grave danger to Japan.”
Japan Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Shohei Ishii on Friday said that Chinese Coast Guard vessels have been entering the waters around the Diaoyutais on a near-daily basis.
They have also intruded into Japan’s maritime territory and harassed Japanese fishing boats.
From March 30 to April 2, Chinese Coast Guard vessels intruded into Japan’s maritime territory for 80 hours and 36 minutes, the longest such intrusion, Ishii said, adding that Japan must face this very serious issue.
The report also said that the Chinese Coast Guard has expanded its capacity in the past few years.
China operates 157 patrol cutters and cruisers that weigh more than 1,000 tonnes, up from 130 in 2019, it said.
In comparison, the Japan Coast Guard has only 71 such patrol cutters, it added.
The Japanese agency plans to have 85 patrol cutters by 2026, which would still be far less than the Chinese Coast Guard force, the report said.
Experts said Chinese Coast Guard cutters and cruisers are armed with rapid-fire naval guns, anti-aircraft machine guns and guided missiles.
The Chinese Coast Guard last year received 22 1,200-tonne corvettes from the Chinese navy, it said.
Additional reporting by Jason Pan
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