China's patrol ships in the East China Sea have come closer than ever to the disputed Diaoyutai (Diaoyu or Senkaku) islands from mid-December, under direct orders from Xi Jinping, according to Japan's Asahi Shimbun.
From August, Chinese ships had generally kept at a distance of 200 km from the islands, at what has been called the "halfway line" between China and Japan, but in mid-December this policy saw a sudden shift, with two patrol boats coming within 27 km north of the Diaoyutai's surrounding waters and within 70 km of the islands themselves, the paper said.
The ships were a destroyer with a full load displacement of 7,940 tons and a frigate with a full load displacement of 2,392 tons. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force sent a patrol ship to monitor the situation. A Chinese military official was cited by the paper as saying that the order for the change in policy came from President Xi Jinping himself.
Read the full story at Want China Times