Four China ships to enter Japan territorial waters off Senkaku Islands amid heated US-China tensions…

In yet another case of illegal intrusion by Beijing, four Chinese government ships entered Japan’s territorial waters off the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea on Monday.

Japan’s Coast Guard said that the vessels intruded into the waters off Uotsuri and Taisho islands at around 4:30 pm (local time). They are warning the ships to leave immediately.

China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea and has overlapping territorial claims with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Taiwan.

Earlier two weeks ago, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea reported that government patrols had spotted an estimated 240 Chinese ships in Philippine waters – more than the 220 spotted in March.

China has been increasing its maritime activities in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea over the past few months, partly in response to Beijing’s concerns over the increasing US military presence in the region because of escalating Sino-US tensions.