Chinese coast guard vessels entered the territorial waters near the Senkaku (Chinese — Diaoyu) Islands, controlled by Japan, on November 16. This was reported by Bloomberg.
According to Beijing's statement, the "patrolling" was carried out to "protect China's rights and interests." Japan, however, considers this area its territorial waters under its control.
The incident comes at a time when relations between Tokyo and Beijing have significantly deteriorated. On November 7, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi did not rule out the possibility of Tokyo responding militarily to a potential Chinese attack on Taiwan in a parliamentary session. This statement provoked strong disapproval in Beijing, and China demanded that Japan retract this position and also advised its citizens against traveling to Japan.
Another sharp point in Japanese politics is the issue of revising the nuclear principles. It is known that Takaichi is exploring the possibility of re-examining the three "non-nuclear principles" adopted in 1967 — the policy of not possessing, not producing, and not permitting the introduction of nuclear weapons into the country. Tokyo emphasizes that this restriction could reduce the effectiveness of the US nuclear deterrence policy.
Currently, the US cannot deploy nuclear weapons at its bases in Japan or on ships entering Japanese ports. The question remains open.
