Chinese patrol escalates East China Sea tensions

Four Chinese vessels steered into waters surrounding a group of East China Sea islands at the center of a territorial row with Japan on Monday, drawing official protests from Tokyo, Reuters reported. Two Chinese civilian surveillance vessels were carrying out a “rights defense” patrol close to the Senkaku islands, known as the Diaoyu in Chinese, and two fishing agency vessels also entered the area, China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency said. After Japan issued an official protest, all vessels moved farther from the islands by the afternoon, according to the Japanese Coast Guard. Possibly further escalating tensions, a group of 100 fishing vessels and 10 coast guard vessels from Taiwan – which also claims the islands – are moving toward the area. A Chinese boycott on Japan is diverting tourists to South Korea for China’s weeklong National Day holiday, Bloomberg reported.