Chinese And Russian Warships Spotted Near Senkaku Islands, Tokyo: Japan Will Respond Decisively But Calmly

Illustration frigate China. (Wikimedia Commons/US Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Shannon Renfroe)

JAKARTA - Chinese and Russian warships were spotted outside Japan's territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, the government said Monday.

A Chinese frigate sailed in the so-called contiguous zone of the uninhabited island, which is administered by Japan but claimed by China, for about six minutes from 7:44 am, shortly after the Russian frigate entered the waters, according to the Defense Ministry. Beijing calls the island Diaoyu.

The Russian ship stayed in the waters from 7:05 a.m. to 8:16 a.m. and appeared to be doing so to avoid the typhoon, a ministry official said.

After the incident, which comes amid China's increasing maritime assertiveness and China-Russia's growing military ties, Tokyo protested with Beijing, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, Seiji Kihara, told a news conference.

"Japan will respond firmly, but calmly to similar actions", Kihara said, according to Kyodo News on July 4.

This is the first time since June 2016, that Chinese and Russian naval vessels have been seen entering the adjacent zone at roughly the same time.

Meanwhile, Takehiro Funakoshi, director-general of the Foreign Ministry's Bureau of Asian and Oceanic Affairs, protested to a senior official of the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo by telephone, the ministry said, adding that there were no reports of Chinese and Russian frigates entering the territorial waters around the island group.

Under international law, ships of any country, including warships, are understood to have the right to sail through the adjacent waters of the coastal State, unless it threatens the safety of that State.

For years Japan has lodged protests with China over repeated intrusions by Chinese coast guard vessels into Japanese waters around the Senkaku Islands.

Japan has also been wary of deepening military cooperation between China and Russia in recent times, such as the joint flights of bombers from the two countries over the Sea of Japan, East China Sea, and the Pacific in late May.