TOKYO: Beijing has lodged a protest with Tokyo after a group of Japanese lawmakers visited a disputed island chain, with the Chinese embassy on Sunday denouncing the trip as “provocative”.

The five-member delegation led by former defence minister Tomomi Inada joined local government officials in conducting a maritime inspection on Saturday in the East China Sea around the Japan-administered Senkaku islands, known by Beijing as the Diaoyu.

“Diaoyu Dao and affiliated islands are China’s inherent territory,” a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Tokyo said, according to a statement posted on its website Sunday.

“In response to Japan’s infringing and provocative actions, China has lodged solemn representations to the Japanese side.” The remote chain of islands has long fuelled tensions and is the scene of regular confrontations between Japanese coast guard vessels and Chinese fishing boats.

Beijing has grown more assertive about its claim to the islands in recent years, with Tokyo reporting the presence of Chinese coast guard vessels, a naval ship and even a nuclear-powered submarine.

“I find it difficult to forgive that China’s coast guard is entering these territorial waters as if it owns them,” Inada told Japanese media from the survey ship.

The hours-long inspection, arranged by the southern Japanese city of Ishigaki in the Okinawa region, saw the MPs use a drone to examine one of the islands, public broadcaster NHK said.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2024

Opinion

Editorial

Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.
Concerning measures
Updated 03 Nov, 2024

Concerning measures

The govt must seek political input and consensus on the changes it is seeking to make and be open about its intentions.
Short-lived relief?
03 Nov, 2024

Short-lived relief?

POLICYMAKERS must be jumping with joy. At the close of the first quarter of FY25, the budget posted a consolidated...
Brisk spread
03 Nov, 2024

Brisk spread

THE surge in polio cases has reached distressing levels with a tally of 45 last reported, after two cases emerged in...