Japan confirms China set up buoy over its southern continental shelf

The Japanese government said Friday it has confirmed China has installed a buoy in the high seas over Japan’s southern continental shelf in the Pacific Ocean, in a move that could further strain bilateral relations.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a news conference it was “regrettable” that China has set up a small buoy in the waters off Japan’s western main island of Shikoku and north of the southernmost Okinotori Island “without explaining its purpose and other details.”

The government has urged China not to undermine Japan’s maritime interests, with Beijing responding that it installed the buoy to monitor tsunami and does not intend to infringe upon Tokyo’s sovereignty over the continental shelf, the top government spokesman said.

Japan confirmed that the Chinese survey ship Xiang Yang Hong 22 set up the buoy in mid-June while monitoring the vessel as it sailed through Japan’s exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea, a government source said. The open-sea area in question is surrounded by Japan’s EEZ.

Last July, China installed another buoy inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone near the Tokyo-controlled, Beijing-claimed uninhabited Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, prompting Japan to lodge a protest and demand its immediate removal.

China has been intensifying its military activities and maritime assertiveness in the regional waters, with Japan protesting against repeated intrusions by Chinese ships into Japanese waters around the Senkakus, which Beijing calls Diaoyu.