Chinese survey ship leaves Japan EEZ after orders

A Chinese survey ship has left Japan's exclusive economic zone after being repeatedly ordered to stop research operations that Tokyo said were unauthorised, Japan's coast guard said Tuesday.

Coast guard spokesman Masashi Asano said the vessel Kexue was first seen on September 27 about 70 kilometres north of Ishigaki island in Okinawa prefecture. He said it was intermittently extending wire-like objects into the sea from its side and stern.

Asano said the ship left on Friday after the coast guard sent radio messages demanding that the survey be halted. He said scientific research in Japan's maritime zone without consent would not be tolerated.

The coast guard said there have been 14 cases of unapproved surveys by Chinese ships in Japan's exclusive economic zone so far this year, compared with six last year and one or two cases in each of the three previous years.

Asano said the frequency had risen since Japan and the Philippines announced maritime border negotiations. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos agreed on May 28 to start formal talks on delimiting their exclusive economic zone and continental shelf boundary.

Japan and China also have recurring standoffs around the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku islands in the East China Sea, which Beijing claims and calls the Diaoyu. Takaichi called China an “important neighbour” on Monday and said Japan would seek a stable relationship.