China says its coast guard has expelled a Japanese fishing boat for illegal entry into its territorial waters near contested islands in the East China Sea.

In a statement on Thursday, China’s coast guard said it had “expelled” the Japanese fishing vessel that had “illegally entered” waters around Diaoyu Islands on October 15-16 and was warned to leave.

“We urge the Japanese side to immediately stop all illegal activities in these waters,” said Liu Dejun, a Chinese coast guard.

The coast guard “took necessary control measures in accordance with the law, warned [the ship] and expelled it”, Liu further noted, adding that the guard would continue to carry out maritime rights protection and law enforcement activities in waters under its jurisdiction.

Back in 1947 and following its formal surrender to the Allies at the end of World War II, Japan renounced war or threat of force as a sovereign right. However, Tokyo unveiled a five-year $315-billion military expansion in 2022, claiming that the huge budget was needed to deter Beijing from using force in the East China Sea, home to a disputed chain of islands.

The group of uninhabited yet strategically-important islets, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, are the centerpiece of a long-running territorial dispute between the two East Asian heavyweights with a long history of unresolved conflict.

The islands, which lie about 220 kilometers northeast of Taiwan and are controlled by Japan, were transferred by the United States to Japan’s administrative control in 1971, triggering a territorial dispute with China, which claims the discovery and ownership of the islands from the 14th century. Tokyo, however, insists that it had ownership of the islands from 1895 until its surrender at the end of World War II.

Ties between China and Japan deteriorated after Tokyo nationalized part of the resource-rich islands in 2012. China maintains that it has indisputable sovereignty over them. The Japanese government, instead, regards them as part of its territory.

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