According to Japan’s Kyodo News, Japanese government sources claimed on the 8th that the Chinese Coast Guard ship approaching the Japanese fishing boats in the so-called "Japanese territorial waters" near the Diaoyu Islands (known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan) in 2021 will be a total of 29 days. About twice as much as the previous year. The report also claimed that China will implement the "Marine Police Law" that allows marine police to use weapons in February 2021. The Japanese government has heightened its vigilance against (Chinese) maritime police activities becoming more active.
According to Kyodo News, sources from the Japanese government mentioned that in the 13th round of high-level consultations on maritime affairs between Japan and China on the 20th of last month, China asked Japan to control Japanese fishing vessels. The report also mentioned that on the day of the consultation and the next day, the Chinese coast guard boat also sailed into the Diaoyu Islands, “trying to get close to the fishing boats on Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture that fished for mackerel.”
The report continued to exaggerate that after May 2020, the (Chinese) Coast Guard will in principle chase Japanese fishing boats entering the vicinity of the Diaoyu Islands. However, on November 11 last year, the Chinese Coast Guard did not chase the fishing boats on Yonaguni Island in Okinawa Prefecture, which was fishing near the Diaoyu Islands. They only conducted surveillance in the contiguous area. Kyodo News also conducted a wave of “self-analysis” for this, claiming that this was due to the first The second Kishida cabinet has just come to power.
The report claimed that China's "coastal guard ship sailed into the territorial waters near the Senkaku for a total of 40 days in 2021."
Regarding Japan’s frequent use of China’s “Maritime Police Law” and normal law enforcement, the spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded many times before. The formulation of the “Maritime Police Law” is China’s normal legislative activity and conforms to international conventions and practices of various countries. The Chinese legislative process is open and transparent. We hope that relevant countries will treat it objectively and correctly, and refrain from groundless suspicion and accusations. The Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islands are China's inherent territory, and China firmly safeguards its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests. China and Japan should maintain the peace and stability of the relevant waters by the spirit of the four-point consensus between China and Japan, managing and controlling differences through dialogue. China’s determination to safeguard the country’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests is unwavering, and at the same time, it is willing to continue to properly handle differences with relevant countries through consultations and negotiations.
