18 July 2017

News Story: Chinese ships enter Japan waters north of Kyushu for 1st time

FUKUOKA (Kyodo) -- Two Chinese coast guard ships briefly entered Japanese waters Saturday around two islands off the southwestern main island of Kyushu, in the first confirmed entry by Chinese government vessels into the area, the Japan Coast Guard said.

Under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, vessels of every country have the right to sail through territorial seas as long as they do not harm the safety of the countries concerned.

The Japan Coast Guard requested the ships to exit from the territorial waters, though it has not made it clear whether it considered their presence an intrusion into territorial waters.

According to the coast guard, it was notified by the Defense Ministry that one Chinese coast guard ship entered territorial waters near the southern tip of Tsushima Island around 11:50 a.m.

The ship exited the waters around 12:20 p.m. after the coast guard called on the ship to leave by radio.

Read the full story at The Mainichi