Chinese ships carrying autocannons trouble US ally Japan

A Japanese coast guard patrol ship on Tuesday spotted four Chinese autocannon-armed coast guard vessels near a group of islets administered by U.S. ally Japan but also claimed by China and Taiwan.

Newsweek has emailed the Japanese, Chinese and Taiwanese foreign ministries for comment.

Why It Matters

The Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands, known as the Diaoyu Islands in China and the Tiaoyutai Islands in Taiwan, are located in the East China Sea.

They have been the subject of assertive patrols by Chinese coast guard vessels since Tokyo nationalized its control of them in 2012, a move that Beijing strongly protested.

What To Know

On Tuesday the Japanese coast guard reported four Chinese vessels transiting the contiguous zone outside Japan’s territorial waters off the Senkaku Islands, Kyodo News Agency reported.

The Chinese ships were armed with autocannons, capable of rapid-firing large-caliber armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary shells.

According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which frames a regime of law and order in the world’s oceans and seas, a zone contiguous to a nation’s 12-nautical mile territorial sea may not extend beyond 24 nautical miles from its shores.

Chinese coast guard ships were spotted sailing near the Senkaku Islands on 355 days in 2024, a new record, the Kyodo report said.

In its latest annual report on Chinese military power, which was released last month, the U.S. Defense Department said Chinese government ships were detected in the contiguous zone around the Senkakus on 352 days in 2023, compared to 336 days of patrols in 2022.

The Chinese coast guard serves as the “front-line force” for protecting the country’s rights in disputed maritime areas, according to the Pentagon. It has the world’s largest maritime law enforcement fleet, operating over 150 patrol vessels that are more than 1,000 tons.

What People Are Saying

A Japanese government official told Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun: “We must endure the current situation. It is important to respond calmly and stoutly…We will fall into their trap if we respond to the provocations by strengthening armaments on our patrol vessels.”

Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., previously told Newsweek: “Diaoyu Dao (the Diaoyu Islands) and its affiliated islands are China’s inherent territory. Patrolling and law enforcement in the waters off Diaoyu Dao is our inherent right, and the relevant party has no right to make unwarranted comments.”

What Happens Next

The Chinese coast guard is likely to continue its almost daily law enforcement patrols near the Senkaku Islands in 2025. It remains to be seen whether Beijing will escalate its actions by sending warships to the disputed territory, further asserting its sovereign claim.