THREE Chinese government ships have entered the waters of disputed Tokyo-controlled islands, Japan's coastguard says, as a long-running row shows no sign of fading. <\/p>\n
Maritime surveillance vessels were spotted in the 12-nautical-mile zone off the Senkaku islands, which China calls the Diaoyus, in the East China Sea shortly after 9am (1000 AEST) on Monday, the coastguard said. <\/p>\n
It is the latest episode in a fraught few months that has seen repeated stand-offs between official ships from both sides as they have jostled over ownership of strategically-important and resource-rich islands. <\/p>\n
The territorial row blistered in September when Tokyo nationalised three islands in the chain, in what it said was a mere administrative change of ownership. <\/p>\n
Tokyo's move prompted angry anti-Japan demonstrations across China, which has intensified claims to the islands it says should have been \"returned\" in the post-World War II settlement Tokyo made. <\/p>\n
In one of the more intense incidents, Chinese warships locked their weapons-targeting radar on a Japanese destroyer, and opposing fighter planes have shadowed each other on numerous occasions amid warnings a slip-up could lead to a military showdown. <\/p>\n
In late April, eight Chinese government vessels sailed into the disputed waters and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed he would \"expel by force\" any Chinese landing on the islands. <\/p>\n
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Chinese ships in disputed-islands waters<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" THREE Chinese government ships have entered the waters of disputed Tokyo-controlled islands, Japan's coastguard says, as a long-running row shows no sign of fading. Maritime surveillance vessels were spotted in the 12-nautical-mile zone off the Senkaku islands, which China calls the Diaoyus, in the East China Sea shortly after 9am (1000 AEST) on Monday, the coastguard said. Continue reading