Three Chinese surveillance vessels were spotted Saturday in the contiguous zone near the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, the Japan Coast Guard said.
It is the sixth straight day that Chinese ships have been seen sailing near the Japan-controlled Senkakus, the 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, reported.
In response to the coast guard's warning not to intrude into Japan's territorial waters around the islets, one of the Chinese vessels replied via radio that the Diaoyu, as Beijing refers to them, are inherently Chinese territory.
A Chinese fishing vessel was spotted sailing in and out of the contiguous zone outside Japanese waters around the Senkakus earlier Saturday before departing the area.