Chinese ships spend record amount of time near Japan-controlled islands, Tokyo says

Seoul, South Korea CNN —

China Coast Guard ships have been in waters around Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea for a record 158 consecutive days, according to Tokyo’s latest count released Monday, surpassing the previous record set in 2021.

Analysts fear the uninhabited islands, known as the Senkakus in Japan and the Diaoyus in China, have the potential to become a flashpoint for conflict between the two Asian neighbors.

“The Japanese government takes very seriously the fact that there have been a succession of vessels sailing in the contiguous zone and trespassing in territorial waters,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at Monday briefing in Tokyo.

The Japanese government chief spokesperson did not say how often Chinese ships entered Japan’s territorial waters, though foreign ships are allowed “innocent passage” through such waters.

A contiguous zone extends another 12 nautical miles beyond a country’s territorial waters, the area that stretches 12 nautical miles from the shore.

Foreign warships are allowed into contiguous zone waters – so the Chinese Coast Guard hasn’t broken any international agreements – but the continuous presence of the Chinese vessels there is seen as a provocation.

Hayashi said Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has raised Tokyo’s “serious concerns” with Chinese Premier Li Gongmin during a trilateral summit with South Korea in Seoul on Monday.

“We will continue to take every possible precaution and surveillance around the Senkaku Islands with a sense of urgency,” he said.

Competing claims

The uninhabited island chain has been a sore spot in Japan-China relations for years.

Claims over the rocky chain, 1,200 miles (1,900 kilometers) southwest of Tokyo but