Chinese President Xi Jinping says "Remove non-official vessels from Senkaku"... Japan says "No"

On the afternoon of the 4th, Wang Yi, China's Foreign Minister, is entering the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building for a meeting with Kang Kyung-wha, the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] Kato Katsunobu, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary, rejected the proposal by Wang Yi, China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister, to withdraw fishing vessels from the waters surrounding the Senkaku Islands (called Diaoyutai Islands in Chinese). The Senkaku Islands, effectively controlled by Japan, are a disputed territory between China and Japan.

Kato, the Japanese government spokesperson, stated on the 26th that the Japanese government’s position on Wang’s proposal to remove all vessels except official government ships from the Senkaku waters is "completely unacceptable."

Earlier, on the previous day, Wang Yi visited Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office and reportedly said, according to Kyodo News, that if both China and Japan prevent vessels other than official government ships from entering the waters around Senkaku, the issue would calm down and disappear. Wang also said, "Disguised fishing vessels repeatedly enter sensitive waters," and emphasized, "It is very important to prevent such vessels from entering."

The Japanese government maintains that the Senkaku Islands are Japan’s inherent territory with no territorial dispute, and that China’s official government vessels must stop intruding into Japanese territorial waters. On the same day, Kato stated, "During yesterday’s meeting with State Councilor Wang, I also conveyed concerns about Chinese government vessel activities around the Senkaku waters and demanded concrete actions from the Chinese side."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.