Japan, China coast guards square off near disputed islands

Japanese and Chinese coast guard vessels traded accusations on Tuesday after an encounter near the disputed Senkaku islands — also known as the Diaoyu islands in China — in the East China Sea.

Japan's coast guard said four Chinese vessels were operating near the islands, two of which entered what Tokyo considers its territorial waters.

The Chinese ships were approaching a Japanese fishing vessel in the area, according to Japan's coast guard.

The Japanese coast guard said it then "issued orders to leave ... successfully forcing the Chinese coast guard vessels to leave Japanese territorial waters by approximately 9:20 am (0020 GMT) today."

Tokyo described the Chinese vessels' actions as "a violation of international law."

In a separate statement, China's coast guard said that a Japanese fishing boat had "intruded into" its territorial waters and that its ships had taken "necessary measures to warn and expel it."

The statement said that the disputed island chain was "China's inherent territory," and that the Chinese coast guard urged the "Japanese side to immediately stop all rights-violation and provocative acts in relevant waters."

Senkaku islands part of long-standing territorial dispute

The uninhabited Senkaku island chain is administered by Japan but claimed by China.

Located between Taiwan and Japan's Okinawa island chain, the islands have long been a source of friction between Beijing and Tokyo. Interest in the area has been amplified by the possibility of oil and natural gas reserves beneath the East China Sea.

Chinese government vessels frequently operate near the islands, although approaches to Japanese fishing boats are comparatively rare. Chinese coast guard ships were last reported to have entered waters claimed by Japan on June 10.

How China uses fishing boats for military power

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Japan-China relations at a low point

The latest incident comes against a backdrop of increasingly strained ties between the two countries.

In November 2025, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said her country could come to Taiwan's aid militarily in the event of a Chinese invasion.

These comments drew heavy criticism from Beijing. Since November, Chinese officials have called on their citizens to avoid traveling to Japan and have banned Japanese entities from receiving Chinese exports, including rare earth minerals.

Edited by: Natalie Muller

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