Two Chinese ships enter Japan's territorial waters near disputed Senkaku Islands

In yet another case of illegal intrusion by Beijing, two Chinese patrol ships entered Japan's territorial waters near the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea on Saturday.

At first, four ships in total were spotted in the area bordering Japan's territorial waters. Then, two of the ships entered the waters and attempted to approach a Japanese fishing vessel, Sputnik reported citing the Kyodo news agency.

According to the Japanese broadcaster, this is the 32nd time that Chinese vessels have entered Japan's territorial waters in 2021.

Japan controls the Senkaku Islands, but China and Taiwan continue to claim them.

Tokyo maintains the islands are an inherent part of its territory as per history and international law.

China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea and has overlapping territorial claims with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan.

Meanwhile, China has been increasing its maritime activities in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea over the past few months, partly in response to Beijing's concerns over the increasing US military presence in the region because of escalating Sino-US tensions.

( With inputs from ANI )