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Two Chinese Vessels Enter Japan's Waters Near Disputed East China Sea Islands, Reports Say

© AP Photo / Emily Wang, FileIn this Sunday, Aug. 18, 2013 file photo, Japanese Coast Guard boat and vessel sail alongside Japanese activists' fishing boat, not in photo, warning the activists away from a group of disputed islands called Diaoyu by China and Senkaku by Japan
In this Sunday, Aug. 18, 2013 file photo, Japanese Coast Guard boat and vessel sail alongside Japanese activists' fishing boat, not in photo, warning the activists away from a group of disputed islands called Diaoyu by China and Senkaku by Japan - Sputnik International
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China and Japan have been engaged in a long-standing dispute in the East China Sea over the status of a group of uninhabited islands, known as the Diaoyu Islands in China and the Senkaku Islands in Japan.

Japan's Coast Guard has detected two Chinese vessels entering Japanese territorial waters near the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, NHK reported Sunday.

According to the report, the two vessels attempted to approach Japanese fishing boats.

Japan's Coast Guard Headquarters then deployed patrol boats to the area and warned the Chinese vessels to leave what Japan considered its territorial waters immediately.

A group of disputed islands, Uotsuri island (top), Minamikojima (bottom) and Kitakojima, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China is seen in the East China Sea (File)  - Sputnik International
Asia
Japan Protests After Chinese Ships Enter Territorial Waters Near Disputed Islands, Reports Say

According to NHK, this was the 18th time that a China Coast Guard vessel has crossed into the disputed waters off the coast of the Senkaku Islands since 28 August.

The islands in question have long been an object of territorial disputes between China and Japan. Tokyo maintains it has had sovereignty over them since 1895 and Beijing claims that the islands are marked as a Chinese territory on Japanese maps circa 1783 and 1785.

Following World War II, the islands were controlled by the United States and handed over to Japan in 1972. China believes Japan illegally seized them, while Tokyo maintains that Beijing began claiming the islands after the 1970s, when the surrounding water area was found to be full of valuable minerals.

The tensions were exacerbated after the Japanese government bought three of the islands from a private owner in 2012.

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