Tokyo, March 25
Japan has raised serious concerns over the recent, and one of the longest, intrusion by the Chinese Coast Guard ships in the Tokyo-controlled, Beijing-claimed islets in the East China Sea.
Marking the longest intrusion in the territorial waters of Japan, Chinese Coast Guard ships left on Monday night after sailing for 92 hours and 8 minutes near the disputed Senkaku islands.
The amount of activity by Chinese vessels near the Senkaku Islands is "clearly escalating," Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said on Monday.
His remarks came as the Chinese Coast Guard ships continued to operate within Japan's territorial seas near the uninhabited islands since the early hours of Friday, reports the leading Japanese news agency.
Iwaya also told a Diet committee session that during his meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday in Tokyo, he conveyed the concerns of Japan about the presence of the Chinese ships.
Meanwhile, an opposition Japanese lawmaker questioned Iwaya relating to this at the parliamentary session. The opposition leader said that the Chinese ships' intrusion taking place during the bilateral foreign ministerial talks of both the nations was "extremely inappropriate."
In response, Iwaya said that the meeting took place in "a conciliatory and friendly atmosphere," but it is "truly regrettable" that the intrusion happened.
"So we will deal with this issue in a resolute and calm manner," Iwaya added.