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By Micah McCartney
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Japan is set to increase coast guard patrols near a disputed group of islands in the East China Sea, in response to China’s expanding and increasingly assertive presence around the territory.
Why It Matters
The uninhabited islands, known as the Senkakus in Japan and the Diaoyus in China, have been a flashpoint since Tokyo nationalized them in 2012. Taiwan also lays a nominal claim to the islets, calling them the Diaoyutais.
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The international legal status of the islands, believed to harbor significant oil and natural gas reserves, remains unresolved. The United States does not take a position on sovereignty, but has confirmed that the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty applies there as it does in other Japanese-administered areas.
Newsweek reached out to the Chinese and Japanese Defense Ministries by email for comment.
What To Know
During her cabinet’s first meeting on security since taking office in October, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said she would push for larger patrol boats starting next year.
Japan will also work to strengthen coast guard and defense ministry cooperation, and promote multifaceted cooperation with regional partners including the U.S., South Korea, Australia, India, and the Philippines in pursuit of "a free and open Indo-Pacific." she said.
According to a Japanese coast guard document released December 23, Chinese coast guard vessels had been observed in the contiguous zone, a buffer extending 12 nautical miles (13.8 miles) from the territorial waters claimed by Japan around the Senkakus, for 341 days continuing the upward trend seen in recent years.
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Reported incursions into Japan’s so-called territorial waters, which extend up to 12 nautical miles from the coast, dipped slightly to 90 in 2024 after being steady at 100 to 120 per year since 2020.
Tokyo is particularly concerned about the steady rise in the proportion of large Chinese vessels patrolling inside the exclusive economic zone it claims around the islands. Under international law, only a claimant state may conduct law enforcement activities within its EEZ.
As of the latest report, 22 Chinese patrol ships deployed around the Senkakus displaced 3,000 tons or more, two more than in 2024 and twice as many as in 2019. Of these, eight displaced over 5,000 tons, and two giants weighed in at over 10,000 tons.
These patrols are also increasingly heavily armed, many equipped with 76 mm naval guns, the report noted.
Takaichi’s announcement comes amid heightened tensions following her contentious comments last month about a potential Chinese blockade of Taiwan, which she said could trigger Japanese military intervention alongside U.S. forces. China responded with a public-relations campaign painting her remarks and Japan’s recent defense spending increases as a return to militarism reminiscent of the World War II era.
What People Are Saying
Wang Yunfei, a Chinese military affairs expert, continued this narrative, telling state media outlet Global Times that Japan’s planned patrol increases are a dangerous development and part of a broader effort to shed its pacifist constitution and undermine the postwar order.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told cabinet members, according to December 23 report by TV Asahi: “The situation surrounding the waters around Japan is becoming more severe, but we must resolutely defend our territory and territorial waters.”
What Happens Next
The Senkakus controversy has so far been less dramatic than China’s territorial dispute with the Philippines in the South China Sea, where several clashes have left Filipino service members injured. It's unclear whether the increase in Japanese patrols will raise the risk of escalation.
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