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The Japanese government has lashed out at Beijing, condemning an incident wherein a flotilla of Chinese government vessels breached Japan-claimed waters around the around the disputed Senkaku islands in the East China Sea.Tokyo has lodged a formal diplomatic complaint after a Japanese-registered private vessel operating within Japanese-controlled waters was approached by four Chinese Coast Guard ships in the early morning hours of Monday. Tokyo says its coast guard patrols forced the Chinese ships to depart the area.Illustrative file image, via Kyodo NewsThe encounter was tense, based on the description given to US military news outlet Stars & Stripes, which recounted...

The U.S. military will help Japan monitor “unprecedented” Chinese incursions around East China Sea islands controlled by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing as Chinese boats prepare to begin fishing in nearby waters, the commander of U.S. Forces Japan said on Wednesday. “The United States is 100 percent absolutely steadfast in its commitment to help the government of Japan with the situation,” Lieutenant General Kevin Schneider said during an online press conference. “They (Chinese ships) would go in and out a couple of times a month and now we are seeing them basically park and truly challenge Japan’s administration,” he added.

TOKYO — Matching China’s stern rhetoric with warnings of his own, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan vowed on Monday to defend his nation’s airspace after China declared an air defense zone over a disputed group of islands in the East China Sea. Speaking in Parliament, Mr. Abe called China’s move an unacceptable effort to change the status quo with threats of force. He described it as a dangerous ratcheting up of tensions in the standoff over the uninhabited islands, which are administered by Japan but also claimed by China. “We are determined to defend our country’s air and sea...

John McCain was in Tokyo speaking on he Senkaku Island (Japanese name) dispute with China, Wednesday, August 21, 2013. He said: “The Congress in the United States resolution last year said the Senkaku is a Japanese territory. That is our position as a congress and as a government. I will continue to repeat that when I go to China.“ John McCain, Wednesday, August 23, 2013 in Tokyo Two days later, John McCain was in Beijing speaking to the Chinese on the Diaoyu Island (Chinese name) dispute with Japan, Friday, August 23, 2013, two days later. He said: "The U.S. has...

HONG KONG (AP) - Japanese patrol vessels fired water cannon Sunday at a boat carrying Chinese activists who were protesting Japanese claims to territory in the East China Sea, the activist group said. A boat carrying the protesters arrived near the five disputed islets - known as the Diaoyu Islands in China and Senkaku in Japan - on Sunday evening, according to the activists' group, the Hong Kong-registered China Federation of Defending Diaoyu Islands.

  Beijing Reaffirms Position on Diaoyu Islands, Taiwan The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded to a reported Japanese deal on the disputed Diaoyu Islands by reasserting China's sovereignty over them. Foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan on Friday called on Japan to "properly handle'' the issue of the Diaoyu Islands by following the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement and the one-China principle. Taiwanese media reported recently Taiwan and Japan had reached a consensus to designate the area between the 27th and the 29th parallel north as a region where both can fish. However, the Japanese foreign ministry on Wednesday denied the report....