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Ships of the coast guards of China and Japan near the island of Uotsuri (2012): Because of the Senkaku Islands, there are repeated provocations between Beijing and Tokyo
Photo: KYODO/ REUTERS
China and Japan have long had a dispute over Japan's Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
Now a new incident has caused tensions between Tokyo and Beijing.
The Japanese government expressed its displeasure at a Chinese naval ship that had approached the archipelago.
Dubbed the Diaoyu Islands by China, the islands are controlled by Japan but also claimed by Beijing.
"We have expressed serious concerns and lodged a protest with the Chinese side through diplomatic channels, asking them to prevent similar incidents from happening again," Japan's Deputy Chief of Cabinet, Seiji Kihara, said.
The islands are "Japanese sovereign territory both from a historical and from an international law point of view".
Zhao Lijian, spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, stressed that the activities of the Chinese ships are "legitimate and legal" since the islands are "China's very own territory".
China's coast guard regularly sends ships to the area, a Chinese naval ship was last there in 2018, according to the Japanese broadcaster NHK.
Russian ship reportedly also sighted
According to Japanese media reports, a Russian naval ship was also sighted in the waters near the disputed archipelago on Monday morning.
The Ministry of Defense in Tokyo was initially unable to confirm the reports.
In May, Chinese and Russian fighter jets carried out joint flights near Japan just as the leaders of the US, India, Australia and Japan were meeting in the country for a regional security summit.
At the time, Tokyo spoke of "provocative" maneuvers, while Beijing described them as part of regular military exercises.
Japan has long-standing territorial disputes with China and Russia.
Relations between Tokyo and Moscow have also deteriorated significantly since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine as Japan joined Western sanctions against Russia.
col/AFP