Japan said Chinese coast guard vessels sailed Monday into its territorial waters around disputed islands in the East China Sea, days after the new US defence chief vowed to defend Tokyo's control of them.
Three ships entered the waters surrounding the uninhabited chain, the Japan Coast Guard said in a statement. The isles are controlled by Japan as the Senkakus but claimed by China as the Diaoyus.
The incursion came at around 2:00 pm (0500 GMT) and the ships were cruising in a south-southwesterly direction, according to the statement.
The ships left about two hours later, the coast guard said in a separate statement.
The incident came two days after James Mattis, US President Donald Trump's new defence secretary, said in Tokyo that the island chain was subject to a longstanding Washington-Tokyo defence treaty.
The islets are at the centre of a festering row between Tokyo and Beijing, which is also involved in a widening dispute with several Southeast Asian countries over islands in the South China Sea.
Read the full story at SpaceDaily