China's research vessel incursions spark renewed Japanese protests

On Saturday, Japan's Ministry of Defence reported that a Chinese research vessel entered Japanese territorial waters near the Osumi Islands. The Tokyo government issued a formal protest to the authorities in Beijing. Japanese media emphasized that this was the second incursion this week.

The Chinese research vessel was detected in the early morning Eastern Time in Japan’s territorial waters west of Kuchinoerabu Island. The Japanese ministry reported leaving these waters in less than two hours near Yakushima Island.

It was added that the Japan Self-Defense Forces, as Japan’s armed forces are formally called, sent a minesweeper and patrol aircraft to monitor the Chinese vessel's movement.

The Kyodo agency reported that this was the 10th incursion of a Chinese research vessel into Japanese waters near islands belonging to Kagoshima Prefecture since November 2021. According to them, such vessels are often used for bathymetric research and submarine navigation.

The Japanese news agency recalled that on Monday, for the first time, a Chinese military plane was confirmed to have violated airspace over the East China Sea. According to the authorities in Tokyo, it was a spy plane.

In recent years, the Japanese government has repeatedly expressed concern over China's increasing military activity in the surrounding seas. In response to these concerns, Tokyo announced last year plans for the largest arms buildup since the end of World War II.