Naha: Two Chinese coast guard ships stayed in Japanese territorial waters off the Senkaku Islands for about 25 hours before leaving on Tuesday.

The Haijing ships entered Japanese waters off the East China Sea islands on Monday and attempted to approach a Japanese fishing boat.

This was the 26th intrusion by a Chinese government vessel into Japanese waters off the islands in Okinawa Prefecture this year, and the first since Oct. 9.

The two Chinese ships entered Japanese waters southeast of Minamikojima in the Senkaku chain around noon to 12:05 p.m. Monday, following a Japanese fishing boat, and left the waters south of the island around 12:50 p.m. to 12:55 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Japan Coast Guard’s 11th regional headquarters in Naha, Okinawa.

JIJI Press