Beijing Defends Actions of Chinese Patrol Vessels Near Disputed Islands

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - China considers as fully lawful the actions of its coast guard boats against Japanese fishing vessels in the waters near the disputed Senkaku Islands, known as the Diaoyu Islands in China, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said.

"Diaoyu Dao and its affiliating islands have been part of China’s territory. The activities of Chinese vessels in the adjacent waters are legitimate and lawful. The Japanese side has no right to point fingers over these activities," Zhao said during a briefing.

On Monday, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said the Japanese government lodged a diplomatic protest with Beijing over two Chinese patrol vessels that tried to approach Japanese fishing boats in the waters off the Senkaku Islands on Monday morning. This was the 15th such incident this year.

Both Japan and China have extended territorial claims over the Senkaku Islands. Japan insists on its sovereignty over the islands effective since 1895, while China points to the 1783 and 1785 Japanese maps designating the islands as Chinese territory. After World War II, the Senkaku Islands went under the control of the United States and were passed on to Japan in 1972.

Japan believes that China's sovereignty claims over the islands follow the discovery of valuable minerals in their shelf waters in the 1970s. The territorial dispute escalated in 2012, when the Japanese government purchased three of the five islands from a private owner, thereby confirming Japan's affiliation with the islands.