Diaoyu Islands News

China's coast guard entered the waters around disputed East China Sea islets on Wednesday to counter what it called the incursion of Japanese vessels into Chinese territorial waters.Disputed East China Sea islets claimed by China and Japan have long been a sticking point in bilateral ties.

As Washington and Beijing trade barbs over the coronavirus pandemic, a longer-term struggle between the two Pacific powers is at a turning point, as the United States rolls out new weapons and strategy in a bid to close a wide missile gap with China.The United States has largely stood by in recent decades as China dramatically expanded its military firepower. Now, having shed the constraints of a Cold War-era arms control treaty, the Trump administration is planning to deploy long-range…

Japan’s defense minister criticized China on Monday for sailing an advanced stealthy nuclear submarine close to disputed islands claimed by Japan and China, saying the action had stoked tension. The submarine, which Japan detected in the East China Sea, was a 110 meter-long Shang-class vessel, which is able to dive deeper and for longer than older boats and is armed with torpedoes and anti-ship missiles, according to Japan’s Ministry of Defence. “Operating a submerged submarine close to another country’s territory goes against the norms of international rules…

The joint military drill by Japan, the US and India being held near the waters of the East China Sea will create more frictions in the disputed area, warns China. The first phase of the drill kicked off on Friday in Japan’s southwestern city of Sasebo, with the second stage due to start on June 14 off the Okinawa Island, Press TV said. The tri-country began their marine war games, Malabar Exercise, near Okinawa Island - about 400 kilometres from the contested Senkaku Islands - hunting for Chinese submarines, ships, recreating scenario of countering a hostile Chinese People' Liberation Army (Navy). Lying around 220 km (137 miles) west of Taiwan are a group of uninhabited isles, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China, which are controlled by Tokyo and claimed by Beijing.

Japan on Monday switched on a radar station in the East China Sea, giving it a permanent intelligence gathering post close to Taiwan and a group of islands disputed by Japan and China, drawing an angry response from Beijing. The new Self Defence Force base on the island of Yonaguni is at the western extreme of a string of Japanese islands in the East China Sea, 150 km (90 miles) south of the disputed islands known as the Senkaku islands in Japan and the Diaoyu in China. China has raised concerns with its neighbours and in the West with its assertive claim to most of the South China Sea where the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have overlapping claims. Japan has long been mired in a territorial dispute with China over the East China Sea islands.

Japan may join the United States in air patrols in the South China Sea in response to China’s growing intent to make good on land claims, according a report in Reuters. Japan's military is considering joining the United States in maritime air patrols in the South China Sea in response to China's increasingly assertive pursuit of territorial claims. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is in Washington to discuss his plans for Japan to take on a wider security role beyond the direct defense of its home islands. The talks resulted in the two countries unveiling new guidelines for defense. Japan could join US patrols in the South China Sea…

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told Japanese leaders on Monday that Washington's treaty commitments to Japan's security remain "iron-clad" and cover all territories under Tokyo's administration, including tiny islands in the East China Sea that China also claims. Kerry renewed the security pledge related to the islets, known as the Senkakus in Japan and the Diaoyus in China, at a New York news conference with Japan's foreign and defense ministers to unveil updated U.S.-Japan defense guidelines on the eve of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's talks with President Barack Obama. "It's an historic transition in the defense relationship between our two countries," Kerry said.

China and Japan have agreed to launch a maritime and aerial crisis management mechanism as soon as possible. The Chinese Defense Ministry announced that some progress was made in the 4th round of expert group discussion on maritime liaison mechanism held by both countries. A consensus had been reached on various aspects in talks in Tokyo this month, including reaffirming previous agreements on the goal, constitution, operation and technical issues of the mechanism; agreeing to change the name of maritime crisis management mechanism to maritime and aerial crisis management mechanism so as to better conduct consultations on maritime and aerial issues, says a statement from the Ministry.

China and Japan have agreed to hold a meeting in Tokyo next Monday to discuss the development of a maritime crisis management mechanism according to Japanese defense sources. The maritime crisis management system will be aimed at averting unwanted clashes around the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea, reports China's news agency Xinhua. The defense departments of the two sides reached consensus over this issue about two-and-a-half years ago, but further talks have been stalled following Japan's declaration of nationalizing three of China's Diaoyu Islands. The consensus included scheduling regular meetings and setting up a hotline between the defense departments, as well as using the same radio frequency between ships and flights.

China and the United States appear headed for a damaging confrontation over the extent of China's territorial claims in the South and East China Seas. Now that China has become the world's largest importer of oil, and energy more generally, the country's need to develop more indigenous energy supplies has become urgent. Expecting China to put the South and East China Seas off limits to exploration and production until disputes over sovereignty can be resolved through some undefined legal or diplomatic process is unrealistic. Part of the problem is that western analysts and policymakers still fail to appreciate the strategic importance of these areas.

"China is our reliable friend," Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday in an interview ahead of a conference in Shanghai. Most evaluations of the bilateral relationship begin by reciting the historical border disputes, rift between Mao Zedong and Nikita Khrushchev, opening to China by Richard Nixon, and the perennial problem of reaching an agreement on gas pricing. But these are all essentially backward looking and ignore the growing community of interests between the two countries. The case for a closer bilateral relationship on energy, trade, security and diplomatic issues is compelling. In the energy sphere, the two countries are an almost perfect match: the world's largest net energy exporter and its second-largest net energy importer (2011) with a long land border.

China's State Oceanic Administration has placed 8 orders with Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Co., & altogether 36 are to be built within two years. As the global shipbuilding industry endures one of its toughest spells in years, at least eight new orders for maritime surveillance ships have been secured by Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Co Ltd, a subsidiary of China Shipbuilding Industry Corp. The progress echoed an earlier statement from Liu Cigui, head of the State Oceanic Administration, which said that 36 patrol vessels are being built and will be put into operation within the next two years by China Marine Surveillance, the bureau's maritime law enforcement agency.

China and Japan have held held their first round of high-level consultations on maritime affairs in Hangzhou, the capital city of east China's Zhejiang province. Officials from the two countries' foreign and defense ministries, as well as their maritime affairs departments and other related departments, attended the one-day meeting, according to a press release issued by China's Foreign Ministry. The two sides exchanged views on various issues concerning bilateral maritime relations and maritime cooperation, said the press release. It said the two countries agreed to use the mechanism as a platform for enhancing communication on maritime issues…

A Chinese marine patrol has recently finished its third mission to crack down on illegal exploration of oil and gas in the South China Sea. China will further intensify regular patrols of its sea territory to protect the country's maritime interests and rights according to a senior maritime official. "The patrols are part of our long-term, important responsibility," said Wu Ping, deputy head of China Marine Surveillance (CMS), a government agency in charge of maritime law enforcement.