A fresh maritime confrontation between China and Japan has reignited tensions in the East China Sea after both countries offered sharply conflicting accounts of an encounter near the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands.
On Tuesday, China’s Coast Guard (CCG) said that a Japanese fishing vessel had “illegally” entered waters around the Diaoyu Islands — which Tokyo administers as the Senkaku Islands — prompting Chinese vessels to approach and issue warnings. Beijing maintains the islands are part of its territory, despite decades of Japanese administrative control.
Japan, however, delivered a different narrative. Its Coast Guard (JCG) said it had intercepted and expelled two Chinese Coast Guard ships that were closing in on the Japanese fishing vessel. According to the JCG, the Chinese vessels entered what Japan considers its territorial waters in the early hours of Tuesday. Patrol ships were dispatched to shield the fishing boat until the Chinese vessels withdrew several hours later.
The incident comes at a particularly fraught moment in bilateral relations. Ties between the two Asian powers have deteriorated rapidly following controversial remarks in November by newly elected Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who is known for her hawkish views on China. During a parliamentary session, Takaichi suggested that Tokyo could take military action if Beijing launched an attack on Taiwan — a statement that triggered outrage in China and sharp rebukes from Chinese officials.
Beijing sees Taiwan, a self-governing island, as part of its own territory and has repeatedly refused to rule out the use of force to bring it under its control. Takaichi’s comments intensified diplomatic friction, spurring more aggressive rhetoric from both sides and generating worries about worsening relations affecting trade, tourism, and broader people-to-people connections.
The disputed islands lie roughly 160km northeast of Taiwan, adding to their strategic significance. The broader East China Sea region has long been a sensitive theatre for military and political rivalry, with both nations frequently accusing the other of dangerous manoeuvres and unlawful incursions.
CCG spokesperson Liu Dejun said on Tuesday that Chinese law enforcement vessels had “approached and warned off” the Japanese fishing boat, which he said had entered China’s “territorial waters of the Diaoyu Dao.” Liu insisted that the CCG had taken “necessary law enforcement measures” and urged Japan to “immediately stop all acts of infringement and provocation.”
Japan countered that its coast guard had fulfilled its responsibility to protect its nationals and uphold the security of waters it considers sovereign territory. Its officials said CCG vessels retreated only after persistent demands and monitoring by Japanese patrol ships.
The islands — uninhabited but strategically located amid key sea lanes and potential hydrocarbon reserves — have become a symbol of deepening mistrust between Asia’s two largest economies. Although China and Japan reached an in-principle agreement in 2008 to jointly develop resources in the East China Sea, political and military tensions have steadily risen since then.
Chinese incursions have become notably frequent. Japan recorded record-high numbers of Chinese government vessels entering or lingering near the disputed territory for the third consecutive year last year. Analysts say these sustained activities appear aimed at normalising Beijing’s presence and probing Japan’s willingness to respond every time a vessel approaches.
Before Tuesday’s incident, the last recorded CCG entry into waters surrounding the islands occurred on 16 November, which China described at the time as a routine patrol to “uphold its rights and interests.”
While neither country appears willing to escalate the latest confrontation into a crisis, the competing claims and uncompromising rhetoric underscore the fragility of relations at a time when regional security dynamics — particularly around Taiwan — are becoming more unpredictable. Observers warn that even minor encounters at sea risk miscalculation, making diplomatic dialogue more necessary than ever, yet increasingly difficult to achieve.
