senkaku islands

WASHINGTON: The United States has urged Japan and China to settle their dispute over the sovereignity of senkaku islands peacefully.

Japanese envoy’s public statement could now give confidence to Vietnam which is increasingly finding itself isolated over South China Sea disputes.

Tokyo has lodged a protest against Beijing after a Chinese helicopter "violated" Japan's airspace and four vessles entered its territorial waters around disputed islands. The Japanese foreign ministry said in a statement released late Saturday that its vice minister lodged "a strong protest" with the Chinese ambassador to Japan "over the intrusion of four China Coast Guard vessels into Japan's territorial waters around the senkaku islands" on the same day.

As Beijing raises the stakes in Japan’s contiguous zone as well as territorial waters in East China Sea, Japan is increasingly looking at India as an indispensable partner in preventing China from altering the maritime status quo in South China Sea where it is not itself party to any dispute.

Three Chinese government ships sailed into the waters of disputed Tokyo-controlled islands on Sunday, Japan's coast guard said.

Tensions escalate as Japan and China accuse each other of airspace violations near the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu islands. Japan protested after a Chinese helicopter entered its airspace, prompting the scrambling of fighter jets. China, in turn, accused Japan of violating its airspace with a civilian aircraft, further straining relations despite recent efforts to improve ties amid the U.S. tariff war.

Japan protested to Beijing after four armed Chinese coastguard vessels entered waters Tokyo claims as its territory around the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. This marked the first such intrusion with vessels carrying apparent cannon. Japan called the action a breach of international law and lodged a strong protest, urging China to leave the area immediately. The vessels departed after over an hour.

Tensions escalate as Japan and China trade accusations of airspace violations near the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea. Japan lodged a strong protest after a Chinese helicopter entered its airspace, prompting the scrambling of fighter jets. China, in turn, protested a Japanese civilian aircraft's alleged intrusion, highlighting the ongoing territorial dispute amid efforts to improve bilateral ties.

Japanese lawmakers' visit to senkaku islands angers Beijing. Former defence minister leads inspection as China claims the territory. Tensions escalate with confrontations and increased military presence, fueling the dispute.

China on Wednesday warned Japan that its decision to purchase disputed islands in the East China Sea would damage the bilateral trade between the two countries.

A recent survey reveals that less than 13% of Japanese individuals have positive feelings towards China, the lowest recorded sentiment since 1978. Negative views are largely attributed to China's assertive actions in the South China Sea, Taiwan, and the Diaoyu Islands known as the senkaku islands in Japan, a South China Morning Post report said.

The US military will help Japan monitor "unprecedented" Chinese incursions around East China Sea islands controlled by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing as Chinese boats prepare to begin fishing in nearby waters, the commander of US Forces Japan said on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks in Japan of an "expansionist" mindset of some countries have riled the Chinese official media which said the Indian leader is more "intimate with Tokyo emotionally" but he himself preferred to sidestep a question on the issue.

In the midst of maritime tensions with several neighbours, China for the first time has published maps of over 130 islands of South China Sea as well as the disputed islands with Japan linking them with the Chinese mainland.

Japan, along with India, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Taiwan, has protested against China's new map that includes the disputed senkaku islands. Tokyo has lodged a strong protest, urging Beijing to rescind the map, while China rejects the claims made by Japan and other countries. India, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Taiwan have also criticized China's new map, asserting their own territorial claims.

Tensions between China and Japan over a group of disputed islands reached a flashpoint on Thursday as China said it has deployed naval ships around the islets for the first time and slammed Japan for "internationalising" the dispute by raising it at United Nations.

It marked the 21st time this year that Chinese boats have entered Japanese waters and the first since late August, a Japanese Coast Guard representative said.