'Extremely concerned': Japan fears clash in East China Sea as Chinese ships dock near Diaoyu Islands

Japan is growing increasingly concerned about the frequent presence of Chinese vessels near the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea with Tokyo fearing that tensions in the region could escalate, drawing parallels to recent maritime disputes between Beijing and Manila in the South China Sea.

According to a South China Moring Post report, citing Japanese newspaper Yomiuri, Chinese warships have been observed in the vicinity of the Diaoyu Islands and near the boundaries of Japan’s Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ). However, the Japanese defence ministry did not specify the duration of their presence, added the report.

In response, Japan has deployed an airborne early warning and control system aircraft, a patrol plane, and a helicopter to the area near Okinawa. Additionally, at least one marine destroyer has been dispatched.

The East China Sea has been a point of contention since 2013 when China unilaterally declared an ADIZ that overlaps with Japan’s long-established ADIZ in the same region.

As per analysts cited in the report, Japan anticipates facing confrontations akin to those experienced by the Philippines in the South China Sea, as Beijing intensifies its assertions over land, sea, and airspace in the East China Sea.

Recent incidents include Philippine supply vessels being targeted by the Chinese coastguard’s water cannons, alongside harassment of Filipino fishing boats.

Analysts believe that China’s ultimate aim is to undermine the international perception of Japanese sovereignty over the Diaoyus, known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan, with the intention to eventually seize them.

Japan has maintained control over the uninhabited archipelago since 1972. These islands fall within China’s self-proclaimed ADIZ, which Chinese warships are increasingly patrolling.

Photos published in the Yomiuri newspaper on January 28 depict a Jiangkai II-class guided missile frigate near the islands.

While Japan is more capable of resisting Chinese aggression compared to the Philippines, Tokyo remains “extremely concerned” about the potential escalation to the point of employing water cannons or other weaponry, as stated by an analyst at the National Institute of Defence Studies (NIDS).

“Recently, Chinese coastguard vessels have been frequently chasing Japanese fishing boats in waters around the Senkakus,” South China Morning Post quoted Masafumi Iida, a China expert at NIDS, as saying to This Week in Asia.

“That is just one of the escalatory actions that China has been taking as it attempts to assume jurisdiction. Japan cannot accept that claim against its waters and this is a clear violation of Japanese territoriality over the Senkakus,” he said.

Beijing has, for more than a decade, been stepping up its claims of sovereignty over the islands. It has undertaken actions such as repeated coastguard intrusions into the waters around the islands as well as drone flights. China’s air and maritime presence in the area is becoming larger and more frequent, Iida said.

On Monday, a Japanese coastguard vessel discovered a large Chinese buoy drifting inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea. The buoy, around 5 metres in diameter, bore the words “China ocean observation” and was found 170km north of the disputed islands.

In July last year, a larger Chinese buoy was discovered tethered some 80km northwest of the islands, prompting a diplomatic protest from China. The Japanese coastguard has warned shipping lines to be aware of additional buoys and the government has requested that they be removed by China but Beijing has yet to respond, added the report, citing Yomiuri.

With inputs from agencies