TOKYO: Japan’s Foreign Ministry summoned China’s ambassador on Tuesday in protest after what it says was another incursion into its territorial waters around islands at the centre of a bitter dispute with Beijing.
“The foreign ministry summoned the Chinese ambassador over ships entering the waters near Senkaku islands,” said a Japanese foreign ministry official.
Japanese government was prompted to lodge a protest with China after two maritime surveillance boats entered the waters of the islands and reportedly remained there for around 14 hours.
The issue of sovereignty of the islands, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China, has long been the bone of contention between two countries. The uninhabited islands are located near a crucial shipping lane and would give the owner exclusive oil, mineral, and fishing rights in the surrounding waters.
DND
