Chinese incursions increase tensions around Senkaku Isles

NAHA — Chinese government ships have been actively sailing in waters around the Senkaku Islands in Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture. In early July, they stayed in Japanese territorial waters for 39 hours, the longest period since Japan nationalized the islands in 2012, and sailed close to fishing boats.

As of July 27, the ships had sailed within the contiguous zone for 105 consecutive days, the longest period yet. The government is hurrying to strengthen security arrangements in the surrounding areas. However, tensions are likely to continue as the Chinese side has shown no signs of backing down.

A huge government boat with “China Coast Guard” written on its hull rapidly approached a Japanese fishing boat that was about 10 tons this month.

It came as close as about 50 meters, making the surface of the sea rough. The fishing boat had no choice but to leave the area.

“I was terrified we were on the verge of a collision,” the captain of the fishing boat, Kazushi Kinjo, 48, said.

He said that his boat was closely followed by two Chinese government vessels in the territorial waters off the Senkaku Islands’ Uotsuri and Taisho islands for four days in a row, starting on July 2.

From January to June in a usual year, he operates boat rides for recreational fishing customers on Yonaguni Island, his hometown in Okinawa Prefecture.

This year, however, the number of anglers has been reduced due to the spread of the novel coronavirus. So, Kinjo went fishing off the Senkaku Islands in search of the abundant deepwater longtail red snapper, known as akamachi.

Many fishing boats used to regularly fish for akamachi in territorial waters off the Senkaku Islands before the nationalization of the islands, but the majority of them have stopped doing so as Chinese government vessels have appeared, according to a local fisheries cooperative based in Ishigaki.

The Japan Coast Guard said it confirmed four times that Chinese government vessels came close to Japanese fishing boats from 2013 to 2019. This year, such incidents have already happened twice.

Last year, Chinese government ships sailed in the contiguous zone just outside Senkaku territorial waters for a record 282 days in total. This year, they are on pace to exceed that.

Under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, coastal states may impose certain regulations on the contiguous zone.

Chinese vessels have repeatedly intruded into territorial waters and continued to engage in activities not permitted under international law.

The city assembly of Ishigaki voted in June to rename Tonoshiro the area covering the Senkaku Islands, as Tonoshiro Senkaku. Shortly after this move, Chinese vessels again intruded into territorial waters.

The size of the Chinese vessels is also increasing. Ships that used to be about 1,000 tons have been replaced by those in the 3,000 to 5,000-ton range. Some of them are equipped with weapons believed to be machine guns.

In 2018 and 2019, the JCG confirmed that more than 70% of the government vessels off the Senkaku Islands were 3,000 tons or larger, a significant increase from 10% in 2012.

The Japanese government is increasing its vigilance in the area. A senior government official said that China is “escalating its actions in order to achieve effective control” of the area.

Every time a vessel is spotted intruding into Japanese territorial waters or sailing within the contiguous zone, the government lodges a protest with the Chinese government and asks them to leave. On those occasions, Tokyo tells Beijing, “The Senkaku Islands are Japan’s inherent territory.”

The Japanese government has hastened to strengthen security arrangements in the area. In February, the JCG newly deployed three large patrol vessels of 3,500 to 6,500 tons in Okinawa and Kagoshima prefectures. Three new jets deployed at Naha Air Base are also monitoring the area from the sky on rotation.

The government plans to deploy an additional 10 ships, including patrol boats, and nine aircraft between this fiscal year and fiscal 2023.

In April, the Okinawa prefectural police established a guard squad for protecting borders and remote islands to deal with potential incidents such as illegal landing by armed fishermen.

“Such rapid expansion is a sign of the Japanese government’s sense of crisis,” a JCG source said.

Courtesy of Kazushi Kinjo A Chinese government vessel is seen near Taisho Island.