China confronts Japan ships near disputed islands
By Christopher Bodeen
Topics: From the Wires, News
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese patrol boats confronted Japanese vessels near a disputed East China Sea archipelago early Tuesday, the latest in a series of such encounters following Tokyo’s nationalization of the islands last month.
Four ships from China Marine Surveillance entered waters near the islands at 10 a.m. (0200 GMT), according to a statement from the State Oceanic Administration that commands the service. The ships conducted surveillance on the on Japanese Coast Guard vessels in the area, “sternly expressed” China’s sovereignty claim over the islands and “carried out expulsion measures,” the administration said.
Japanese Coast Guard spokesman Yuji Kito said ships from both countries flashed signs saying they were in their own territorial waters and demanding the other side leave.
“The Chinese flashed the signs in Chinese and Japanese,” said Kito, speaking by phone from Coast Guard headquarters in Okinawa, which has jurisdiction over the islands. “They have done this before and so have we.” He said the situation was not more intense than previous encounters.
The uninhabited islets, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, are also claimed by Taiwan.
China has launched increasingly frequent patrols around the islands since angrily protesting the Japanese government’s decision to purchase them from their private owners. Chinese ships have at times entered the 22-kilometer (12-nautical mile) zone that Tokyo considers its territorial waters near the islands and Chinese aircraft have also stepped up activity around them.
Tokyo’s nationalization sparked violent protests in dozens of Chinese cities and sent relations nose diving, with trade ties among the worst to suffer.
China has demanded Tokyo acknowledge the sovereignty dispute, and the sides have held low-key talks aimed at reducing tensions.
Japan needs to “face up to the current reality, recognize the controversy, correct their mistakes and negotiate,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a regularly scheduled news conference Tuesday. “We hope Japan can show real sincerity and action to make efforts in solving the current issue.”
___
Associated Press writer Eric Talmadge in Tokyo contributed to this report.
Related Stories
More Related Stories
-
Here come the tornado truthers. Already
-
Peace Corps to allow gay couples to volunteer together
-
Moore officials: Funds for "safe rooms" were held up by red tape
-
Rand Paul: Congress should apologize to Apple, not the other way around
-
Rescue crews race to find tornado survivors
-
Looting in Oklahoma?
-
Hundreds of low-wage federally contracted workers strike in D.C.
-
Okla. mother's tearful reunion with her 8-year-old son
-
New campaign compares gun control to anti-LGBT discrimination
-
Study: Salt Lake City is gay parenting capital of the U.S.
-
Inhofe and Coburn: Red state hypocrites
-
Teen activist to meet with Abercrombie CEO
-
Watch: Family emerges from storm shelter after tornado
-
Must-see morning clip: Barackalypse Now
-
Okla. tornado survivor reunited with dog trapped in rubble live on camera
-
Is Pope Francis an exorcist?
-
Oklahoma death count confirmed at 24, 9 children
-
Frantic parents search for children in tornado's wake
-
Crews dig through rubble after deadly tornado
-
51 killed in massive Oklahoma tornado
-
Don't cry climate-change wolf
Featured Slide Shows
The week in 10 pics
close X- Share on Twitter
- Share on Facebook
- Thumbnails
- Fullscreen
- 1 of 11
- Previous
- Next
-
Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
Credit: AP/LM Otero -
Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
Credit: AP/Matt Rourke -
A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher -
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
Credit: AP/Molly Riley -
Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite -
Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster -
O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid -
Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield -
When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin -
A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin -
Recent Slide Shows
- Share on Twitter
- Share on Facebook
- Thumbnails
- Fullscreen
- 1 of 11
- Previous
- Next
Related Videos
Most Read
-
Oklahoma senator: Tornado aid "totally different" from Sandy aid
Jillian Rayfield
-
Revenge, ego and the corruption of Wikipedia
Andrew Leonard
-
Horrifying new trend: Posting rapes to Facebook
Mary Elizabeth Williams
-
"Jodorowsky's Dune": The sci-fi classic that never was
Andrew O'Hehir
-
Jaron Lanier: The Internet destroyed the middle class
Scott Timberg
-
We're living in an Ayn Rand economy
Paul Buchheit, AlterNet
-
GOP attorney general candidate tried to force women to report miscarriages to police
Katie Mcdonough
-
Facebook's hate speech problem
Mary Elizabeth Williams
-
My open relationship went awry
David Farley
-
Obstruction will ruin GOP
Jonathan Bernstein
Popular on Reddit
links from salon.com

3078 points3079 points3080 points | 2454 comments

155 points156 points157 points | 61 comments

34 points35 points36 points | 11 comments

33 points34 points35 points | 15 comments


Comments
0 Comments