A Chinese trawler's collisions last month with two Japan Coast Guard vessels near the Senkaku islets were "malicious" actions on the part of the fishing boat skipper, but Tokyo is willing to talk with Beijing to prevent similar incidents, Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara reiterated Tuesday.
Speaking in Tokyo at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, Maehara compared the Sept. 7 clash near the uninhabited islets with past incidents in which Chinese vessels entered and operated in the Japan-controlled territory, saying the trawler's actions this time were much worse.
Tokyo claimed the trawler deliberately struck the coast guard vessels and demanded Beijing pay for their damage.