CCG expels intruding Japanese fishing boat

China Coast Guard vessels, on Tuesday, warned and drove out a Japanese fishing boat after it illegally entered the territorial waters of China's Chiwei Islet in the East China Sea, a spokesperson said.

Jiang Lue, spokesman for the CCG, said the Japanese fishing boat illegally entered the waters, prompting the CCG to take necessary control measures in accordance with the law.

Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islands are China's inherent territory, Jiang said.

"We urge the Japanese side to immediately stop all infringing and provocative actions in the waters," he said.

The CCG will continue to carry out rights protection and law enforcement operations in the territorial waters of Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islands to safeguard national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, Jiang added.

The latest incident followed a series of recent Chinese maritime law enforcement activities around Diaoyu Island.

Prior to Tuesday's incident, the CCG had expelled Japanese fishing boats that illegally intruded into the territorial waters of Diaoyu Island on three different occasions this year — in March, April and May — according to CCG statements.

In each case, CCG vessels took necessary control measures against the boats in accordance with the law and warned them away.

CCG's media releases also showed that the agency conducted rights protection patrols in the territorial waters of Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islands every month during the first half of this year.

At a regular news briefing in late June, China's Ministry of National Defense criticized Japan after its defense minister again called into question the transparency of China's defense spending and said Japan would invest in new combat capabilities, including drones and artificial intelligence.

Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesman for the ministry, defended open and transparent defense spending as the country publishes its defense budget annually in accordance with the law, including its total amount, scale, structure and use.

He said China has kept its defense budget reasonable, moderate and restrained, with defense spending accounting for less than 1.5 percent of GDP for many years.

By contrast, Japan, as a defeated country in World War II, has increased its defense budget for 14 consecutive years. Its defense spending has risen to 2 percent of GDP and is planned to increase further to 3.5 percent, Zhang said. Japan's per capita defense spending is more than three times that of China, he added.

Zhang said Japan was using "conspiracy theories" to smear China's defense spending in an attempt to divert attention, mislead public opinion and cover up its ambition and moves toward "remilitarization".