Japan demands ‘immediate removal’ of Chinese buoy near Diaoyu Islands
- The buoy was spotted this summer in waters near the Diaoyu Islands, which Japan administers and calls the Senkakus
- China had previously placed a buoy in the same area of Japan’s exclusive economic area in 2018, according to a Japanese foreign ministry official
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“We have been lodging protests in both Tokyo and Beijing since Japan’s coastguard in July found a buoy” within Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the East China Sea, a foreign ministry official said.
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Diaoyu-Senkaku islands spat deepens as Japan warns China over coastguard ships in East China Sea
“We have demanded the immediate removal of the buoy as it is against international laws” to build a structure in Japan’s EEZ without its consent, the official said, on condition of anonymity.
China placed a buoy in Japan’s EEZ in the same area of the East China Sea in 2018, according to the official.
US backs Japan against China’s Fukushima stance with sushi and sake
Beijing responded with a blanket ban on all seafood imports from Japan.
Food exports from Japan to China plunged 41.2 per cent in August to 14 billion yen (US$95 million), according to finance ministry data released on Wednesday.
Tokyo demanded last month that China ensure the safety of Japanese citizens as it reported a brick being thrown at its embassy in Beijing.
It has also urged tens of thousands of its citizens in China to keep a low profile and has increased security around schools and diplomatic missions.
Speak quietly in China, Japan warns citizens as Fukushima backlash grows
According to Japan’s Kyodo News agency, the Japanese embassy in Beijing has received more than 400,000 nuisance calls since the water release.
The foreign ministry official did not confirm the number, but said “our diplomatic outlets have received countless nuisance calls”.
