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Related press
Mari Yamaguchi
Tokyo (AP) — After Japan discovers the Chinese A Russian warship just outside the territorial waters around the islands of the East China Sea protesting Beijing and being contested on Monday.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense stated that Chinese frigate ships sailed within the "contiguous zone" just outside Japan's territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands. ..
About 40 minutes after the Russian frigate invaded the sea for more than an hour, the existence of a Chinese warship was confirmed, the ministry said.
What was behind recent Chinese and Russian military activity in the region was not immediately clear. The Japanese Self-Defense Forces said the ship may have been there to avoid the typhoon.
Deputy Prime Minister Seiji Kihara said Japan had filed a protest in Beijing expressing "grave concern" about the incident.
"The Senkaku Islands are a unique part of Japan's territory, both historically and under international law. The government is to protect Japan's land, territorial waters, and airspace. Will calmly but firmly address this issue, "Kihara said.
He said there were no territorial waters violations.
In Beijing, China justified the entry of frigates and criticized Tokyo's protests. Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said the islands are Chinese territory.
"The activity of Chinese vessels in nearby waters is legally justified," he said at a regular press conference. "Japan does not have the right to make such irresponsible statements."
Japan sees China's increasingly aggressive military activities in the East China Sea and South China Sea as a threat to regional stability. .. The Orient is particularly sensitive to China's activities near the disputed islands.
Kihara states that Monday's invasion of Chinese warships into the adjacent zone between the territorial waters and the wider exclusive economic zone is the fourth such event since June 2016. rice field.
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Ken Moritsugu, a related press writer in Beijing, contributed to this report.
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