Two Chinese coast guard ships entered Japanese waters around the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea on Monday.

The Japanese government lodged a protest with China because the Haijing ships made moves to approach Japanese fishing boats sailing nearby, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said.

The moves “are totally unacceptable,” Kato told a news conference.

The Chinese ships entered Japanese waters south of Minamikojima, one of the Japanese-administered islands in Okinawa Prefecture, around between 4:05 a.m. (7:05 p.m. Sunday GMT) and 4:20 a.m., according to the Japan Coast Guard’s 11th regional headquarters in Naha.

It was the 11th intrusion into Japanese waters near the Senkaku Islands by Chinese government ships this year.

Japan Coast Guard ships warned the Chinese vessels to leave the Japanese waters while protecting the two fishing boats, the headquarters said.

JIJI Press