Japan Says Chinese Coast Guard Ships Are Now Continually Violating Its Territorial Waters

CNN: Japan says Chinese ships spend record time violating its territorial waters

Chinese coast guard ships have twice intruded into Japan's territorial waters in the past four days, forcing Japanese coast guard vessels to block the Chinese ships from approaching Japanese fishing boats on at least one occasion, authorities in Tokyo said Monday.

The Chinese vessels came within 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) off the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands, known in China as the Diaoyu Islands, well past the internationally recognized 12-mile (19.3 kilometer) limit that defines a country's territorial waters, the Japanese Coast Guard said.

Japanese chief cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Tokyo has lodged repeated diplomatic protests with Beijing over the presence of the Chinese ships.

Both Tokyo and Beijing claim the uninhabited islands as their own, but Japan has administered them since 1972.

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Update #1: Chinese ships make another lengthy intrusion into Japanese waters (Mainichi)
Update #2: Chinese ships sail in Japanese territorial waters near Senkakus for 39 hours — longest since 2012 (Japan Times)

WNU Editor: This is becoming the new normal.