4 China Govt Ships Enter Japanese Waters around Senkakus

Naha, Okinawa Pref., June 2 (Jiji Press)--Four China Coast Guard ships sailed in Japanese waters off the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea on Thursday.

A Chinese government ship intruding into Japanese waters around the isles was the first since May 14 and the ninth this year.

The four Haijing ships entered Japanese waters north-northwest of Uotsurijima in the Senkaku chain at around 10:40-11:00 a.m. (1:40-2:00 a.m. GMT), according to the Japan Coast Guard's 11th regional headquarters in Naha, the capital of the southernmost Japan prefecture of Okinawa.

The Chinese vessels left the waters from a point west-southwest of the same island at around 12:15-12:30 p.m.

The Japanese-administered islands are claimed by China, which calls them Diaoyu.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]