Japan protests Chinese ships' entry into territorial waters

TOKYO, June 25 (KUNA) -- Japan lodged a protest with China on Monday after four Chinese government ships entered Japanese territorial waters near a chain of disputed islands in the East China Sea.
The Foreign Ministry conveyed the protest over the telephone to the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo. The government keeps policy that the islands are inherently Japan's territory in light of history and international law.
Earlier in the day, the Japan Coast Guard said it spotted four Chinese Coast Guard vessels in the morning in sovereign waters off the Japan-administered Senkaku islands, which are also claimed by China and Taiwan. The coast guard warned the Chinese ships to leave the waters immediately, and all of them left 90 minutes later.
The two countries are at odds in a dispute over the sovereignty of the Senkaku, the small chain of uninhabited rocky islands. Known as Diaoyu in China and Tiaoyutai in Taiwan, the islets lie in rich fishing grounds and waters thought to contain large deposits of oil and natural gas. (end) mk.hb