Invading Territorial Waters of Mainland of Japan

In front of its national interest, the dragon does not understand international law. Chinese official ships started invading sea territory of Japan, not only around Senkaku Islands in East China Sea, but also around Tsushima Island or Tsugaru Strait. Still analyzing true intention of Chinese government, Japan has not expressed protest against those intrusions. China looks like setting new rules for their convenience to keep broader sea lane to Pacific Ocean.

Two Chinese Coast Guard ships entered territorial waters of Japan around Tsushima Island, Nagasaki, and Okinoshima Island, Fukuoka, on Saturday. Two ships sailed for a half hour in the territorial waters around Tsushima and an hour around Okinoshima, having exited those areas after Japanese Coast Guard required leaving. It was the first time that Chinese official ships invaded Japan’s territorial waters around those islands.

It was two days later when Chinese official ships entered for the first time in Japan’s territorial waters offshore of Cape Tappi in Tsugaru Strait. While there is a lane of international waters in Tsugaru Strait between the islands of Hokkaido and Honshu, Chinese official ships sailed Japan’s territorial waters close to Honshu. Chinese military ships had also entered Japan’s territory in the strait on earlier this month.

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea guarantees any military or official ships the right of innocent passage in any territorial sea, as long as they do not harm peace, order or security of the country alongside. Threat or use of force, exercise with weapons or collection of information harming security of the country alongside cannot be recognized as innocent passage.

Japanese government is still analyzing whether the invasions of Chinese ships have been innocent passage or not. China had announced to Japanese government that the ships would be passing around Tsushima and Tsugaru Strait to participate in patrol for crackdown of illegal fishery in North Pacific Sea. Japan refrained from protesting, not having confirmed any action out of the category of innocent passage. Chinese newspaper reported that Japan did not protest against first invasion of Chinese official ships in Japan’s territorial waters.

For China, the archipelago of Japan covers the way to advance to Pacific Ocean, the western half of which it hopes to control. While keeping on invading around Senkaku Island in the southern part of Japan, China seems to have started accumulating examples of controlling Japan’s territorial waters around crucial area for sea lane to the Pacific. The Japanese may regard those activities as another Mongolian Invasion in 13^th century.