NAHA, Okinawa Pref. (Kyodo) A Chinese patrol boat was spotted Thursday morning near the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, the Japan Coast Guard said.

Identified as the Yuzheng 201, the vessel was seen around 7:50 a.m. just outside Japan's territorial waters, about 29 km northwest from Kuba Island, one of the islets of the Japan-administered Senkaku group.

The coast guard warned the vessel by radio not to enter Japanese territorial waters, officials said.