🔗 Share this article China Sends Maritime Patrol Vessels to Senkaku Islands During Dispute with Tokyo China has sent its coast guard into the waters of the Diaoyu islands and military drones past outlying Japanese territory as Beijing escalates tensions following the Japanese prime minister’s remarks regarding the island of Taiwan. Patrol Operations This past Sunday, the China's maritime patrol stated that its vessels carried out a “lawful patrol operation” through the waters of the Diaoyu islands, which are administered by Tokyo but also asserted as territory by Beijing. “China coast guard vessel 1307 formation conducted patrols within the territorial waters of the Diaoyu islands. This was a lawful patrol operation undertaken by the Chinese maritime authorities to protect its sovereign claims,” the statement said. Diplomatic Spat Beijing and Tokyo have consistently clashed around the islands but the recent developments come amid an escalating political dispute after the Japan's leader, the Japanese official, told parliament that if China attack democratically ruled Taiwan it might provoke a armed reaction from Japan. That sparked an angry response from Beijing, which has indicated it demands a withdrawal from the Japanese official. Island's Stance Beijing asserts the island as its own territory and plans to incorporate it under what it describes as “reunification”. It has left open the military option. Taiwan’s government and citizens categorically refuse the idea of Beijing's control – choosing to preserve the current situation without explicitly declaring themselves independent, but pledging to protect their sovereignty if required. An military assault by China would risk escalating into a regional or global conflict, potentially involving the US and other partner nations including Tokyo, which has land just 110km (68 miles) from the island. Military Activity On the island, the defence ministry said on Sunday morning that it had observed 30 Chinese military aircraft, multiple naval vessels and one “official” ship, which was probably the maritime patrol, active near the island over the previous day. Official charts released showed up to three drones operating near Taiwan and the Japan's territory off its north-east coast, appearing to go unusually near to Yonaguni. PLA movements there are not rare, but infrequent, and Chinese military activity in the island's ADIZ generally has been low in recent weeks. Earlier this weekend, the ministry said Beijing had been conducting another “combined military exercise” to “harass the airspace and sea around us”. It added the island had dispatched military assets to track the developments. Taiwan reports such Chinese patrols a few times monthly as part of what the Taiwanese government says is an ongoing military pressure campaign. Political Strain Japan has been facing mounting pressure from China since the Japanese official made her remarks, with China’s consul general in the Japanese city prompting a formal protest from Japan by stating that “the dirty head that sticks itself out must be cut off”. Beijing then called in Japan's diplomat for the first time in more than two years, and Beijing's military authorities declared that any Japanese intervention would be doomed to fail. Warning for Citizens Late last week, China cautioned its citizens against travelling to Japan, prompting Tokyo to urge Beijing to take “suitable actions”, though it provided no details. Three Chinese airlines said on Saturday that flights to Tokyo could be refunded or changed for free. In another escalation, Beijing's administration on the weekend advised students to rethink education plans in Japan, citing what it described as an unstable security environment. Although not an outright prohibition, a dramatic reduction in the population of learners from China could have a negative impact on academic institutions in Japan. A record 336,708 foreign nationals were enrolled in Japanese schools last year, according to education statistics. They included more than 123,000 Chinese students – by far the single biggest group. Official Commentary Late on Saturday, a Chinese state media editorial charged the Japanese official with performing a diplomatic maneuver that was “both reckless and fundamentally flawed”. “A conflict between Japan and China would not be a small-scale encounter; it would probably involve other powers, including the United States, and could rapidly escalate to a major confrontation with severe repercussions.” Strategic Positions The government of Taiwan says only its people can decide its future. Japanese leaders have traditionally refrained from discussing the island openly when addressing potential conflicts, maintaining a “strategic ambiguity” also favoured by Tokyo’s main security ally, the US. Nevertheless, China’s ruling Communist party says the unification of Taiwan with the mainland China is “inevitable”, and casts any opposition to it as escalatory. As it advances toward potential armed takeover, Beijing has also been increasing its political operations and its rhetoric towards the island.