China's new coast guard ships in first Diaoyu Islands trip
Source: AFP |
July 25, 2013, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINA'S coast guard approached the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea for the first time yesterday and a Chinese military plane made an unprecedented journey between Okinawan islands.
The moves sparked alarm in Tokyo, where the government said it was a sign of "China's ever-growing maritime advance."
Four ships, bearing the legend "China Coast Guard," were spotted in the contiguous waters of the islands, Japan's coast guard said.
Contiguous waters are a 12-nautical-mile band that extends beyond territorial waters. They are not the preserve of any one country.
Meanwhile, a Chinese Y-8 early warning plane was seen flying over international waters between the Okinawan main island and another Japanese island of Miyako, Japan's defense ministry said. Japanese fighter planes were scrambled to keep a watch on the Chinese aircraft, it said.
Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters it was the first time a Chinese military plane had flown through the area on its way to the Pacific.
"We see it as a sign of China's ever-growing maritime advance," he said.
Vessels from China's Maritime Surveillance have frequently plied waters around the Diaoyu Islands since a row over ownership flared last year after the Japanese government "purchased" three of them from so-called private owners.
Confrontations between Japan's coast guard and these ships have customarily been limited to an exchange of warnings, with each side telling the other to leave. But this is the first time China's coast guard has been seen in the area.
China's reorganized coast guard, which was formally inaugurated on Monday, merges four agencies responsible for fisheries administration, maritime surveillance, customs enforcement and border control. Chinese officials said the move would help boost efficiency in law enforcement and better safeguard China's sovereignty and maritime interests.
The new service is being equipped with ships from the four bodies being eliminated, along with newly built or repurposed craft that could make it Asia's most powerful coast guard. The ships are believed to be armed with machine guns and possibly cannons.
The moves sparked alarm in Tokyo, where the government said it was a sign of "China's ever-growing maritime advance."
Four ships, bearing the legend "China Coast Guard," were spotted in the contiguous waters of the islands, Japan's coast guard said.
Contiguous waters are a 12-nautical-mile band that extends beyond territorial waters. They are not the preserve of any one country.
Meanwhile, a Chinese Y-8 early warning plane was seen flying over international waters between the Okinawan main island and another Japanese island of Miyako, Japan's defense ministry said. Japanese fighter planes were scrambled to keep a watch on the Chinese aircraft, it said.
Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters it was the first time a Chinese military plane had flown through the area on its way to the Pacific.
"We see it as a sign of China's ever-growing maritime advance," he said.
Vessels from China's Maritime Surveillance have frequently plied waters around the Diaoyu Islands since a row over ownership flared last year after the Japanese government "purchased" three of them from so-called private owners.
Confrontations between Japan's coast guard and these ships have customarily been limited to an exchange of warnings, with each side telling the other to leave. But this is the first time China's coast guard has been seen in the area.
China's reorganized coast guard, which was formally inaugurated on Monday, merges four agencies responsible for fisheries administration, maritime surveillance, customs enforcement and border control. Chinese officials said the move would help boost efficiency in law enforcement and better safeguard China's sovereignty and maritime interests.
The new service is being equipped with ships from the four bodies being eliminated, along with newly built or repurposed craft that could make it Asia's most powerful coast guard. The ships are believed to be armed with machine guns and possibly cannons.
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