Naha, Okinawa: Three Chinese coast guard ships entered Japanese territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands in the southernmost Japan prefecture of Okinawa on Wednesday.

Japan Coast Guard patrol vessels urged the three Haijing ships to leave the waters after they attempted to approach a Japanese fishing boat.

This marked the 27th intrusion by Chinese official ships into Japanese waters off the islands this year, and the first since Oct. 17. The Japanese-administered islands are claimed by China, which calls them Diaoyu.

According to the JCG’s 11th regional headquarters in Naha, Okinawa, the three Chinese ships crossed into the Japanese waters between around 2:05 a.m. and 4:15 a.m., including at a point south-southwest of Uotsurijima, one of the islands.

JIJI Press