China Coast Guard (CCG) patrol vessels entered the territorial waters of disputed islands located in the East China Sea between Japan and China on March 21, and stayed for a record 92 hours and 8 minutes, the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) announced on March 24.
What is intriguing is the timing of this intrusion: It occurred on the same day that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi came to Tokyo to attend the Japan-China-South Korea Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. It was the first visit to Japan by a Chinese foreign minister since November 2020.
According to the JCG’s 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters in Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture in Japan, two CCG vessels entered the territorial waters of the islands, which are known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan and the Diaoyu Islands in China, around 2 a.m. on March 21. The islands are administered by Japan but claimed by China and Taiwan.
Shortly after 2:30 a.m. on the following day, two more CCG vessels entered the territorial waters of the islands, bringing the total to four CCG vessels, the JCG said.
By 11 a.m. on March 24, two of the four vessels had left the territorial waters, but the remaining two continued to sail within the territorial waters off the coast of Uotsuri Island/Diaoyu Dao, one of the disputed islands, until just after 10 p.m. on the same day, the JCG said.
At four days, it marked the longest stay in the territorial waters by any CCG vessel since September 2012, when the Japanese government purchased three of the islands from a private Japanese owner to put them under state control. The previous record was 80 hours and 36 minutes marked between March 30 and April 2, 2023.
Late at night on March 24, the JCG announced that it “had forced the Chinese Coast Guard vessels to leave Japan’s territorial waters at around 10:04 p.m. today.”
It is unusual for the JCG to make such an explicit official announcement. It is widely believed that the announcement was intended to be a countermeasure against the longest intrusion by the CCG into Japanese territorial waters, and to appeal to both domestic and international audiences on this matter.
When The Diplomat asked about the intentions behind the statement, a spokesperson at the JCG’s 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters said on March 25, “We simply explained the facts.”
In addition to the notable length of time involved in this incursion, Japan’s conservative Sankei Shimbun newspaper reported on March 25 that there were eight Chinese coast guard vessels around the disputed islands at one point on March 24. Chinese coast guard vessels usually form a flotilla of four, so eight vessels are quite unusual.
Also notable is that the intrusion began on March 21, when top Chinese diplomat Wang visited Tokyo and paid a courtesy call to Japan’s Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru.
What was China’s intention?
On March 24, the CCG website announced that four Japanese fishing boats “illegally entered the territorial waters of the Diaoyu Islands” from March 21 to 24, and that “the Chinese Coast Guard vessels took necessary control measures against them and warned and drove them away in accordance with the law.”
“The Diaoyu Islands and its affiliated islands are China’s inherent territory,” the CCG said, adding, “We urge Japan to immediately stop all illegal activities in the waters.”
In other words, the Chinese explanation is that the CCG vessels were forced to intrude the contested territorial waters to drive away the Japanese fishing boats.
But this Chinese explanation should be taken with a grain of salt from the Japanese perspective. After all, just before Wang’s arrival in Japan, two Chinese naval warships also approached the territorial waters near the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands.
On March 21, Japan’s Joint Staff announced that the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force had confirmed a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Luyang II-class guided missile destroyer was sailing in waters about 70 to 80 km from Uotsuri Island between March 16 and 17. Furthermore, it also confirmed that a PLAN Jiangkai II-class frigate was sailing in waters about 80 km west of Uotsuri Island between March 17 and 18.
Both vessels passed through the waters around Uotsuri Island and headed south in the waters between Japan’s Yonaguni Island and Taiwan.
In response, the JMSDF dispatched the destroyers Akizuki and Sendai, as well as P-1 and P-3C patrol aircraft, to conduct surveillance and gather information.
At the upper house Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense meeting on March 24, Fukuyama Tetsuro, an opposition lawmaker and a former deputy chief cabinet secretary, pointed out that it was a big problem that Chinese government vessels had intruded into Japanese territorial waters during the Japan-China foreign ministers’ meeting.
In response, Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi said, “It is truly regrettable. We will respond calmly and firmly.”
During the foreign ministers’ meeting, Iwaya conveyed to Wang his serious concerns about the situation in the East China Sea, including the situation surrounding the Senkaku Islands, as well as the increasing activity of the Chinese military, and called for adequate measures from the Chinese side.
Is this another phase of China’s salami slicing tactics of increasing pressure through a series of small moves? Or is it a sign that China is taking a more aggressive approach in and around the periphery of the disputed islands?
Since China’s intentions are unclear, Japan’s suspicions are only growing.