Xi instructs Coast Guard to boost activity to assert sovereignty over East China Sea islets

Chinese President Xi Jinping has directed the Coast Guard to enhance its operations to assert sovereignty over the East China islets, currently under Tokyo’s control but also claimed by Beijing, as reported by Japan’s Kyodo news agency on Saturday. In response to Xi’s November order, the Coast Guard has formulated a plan to conduct daily patrols near the islets, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, throughout 2024. Additionally, the coast guard vessels will be tasked with on-site inspections of Japanese fishing vessels if deemed necessary, according to unnamed sources cited by Kyodo. No one was immediately available for comment at Japan’s Foreign Ministry. Japan’s ties with China have long been plagued by the territorial dispute over the group of tiny, uninhabited islets. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reiterated Japan’s serious concerns over the matter when he held talks with Xi in the United States in November, the Japanese government said at the time.