China has deployed additional coast guard patrols to a disputed region of the East China Sea in the face of Japanese complaints over a record number of vessels already there, threatening a further escalation in tensions between the two nations.
Tokyo has complained repeatedly to Beijing in the past few days over a “flotilla” of fishing vessels accompanied by Chinese coast guard ships in the waters near the disputed Senkaku Islands, known as the Daioyu Islands in China. The arrival of the estimated 230 vessels follows the opening of the fishing season in eastern China on August 1.
The stand-off in the East China Sea heightens tensions at a time when international attention is focused further south, on China’s territorial claims and construction of artificial islands in the South China Sea. An international arbitration court ruled against most of China’s claims in the South China Sea last month. Over the weekend, China’s air force conducted flight patrols over the islets in what it says will become “regular practice” to defend its claims.