Japan condemns China fishing curbs; vows to defend islands

By Kiyoshi Takenaka

NARASHINO, Japan Sun Jan 12, 2014 4:00am EST

1 of 4. Japan's Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera (C) reviews troops from the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force 1st Airborne Brigade during an annual new year military exercise at Narashinoexercise field in Funabashi, east of Tokyo January 12, 2014.

Credit: Reuters/Issei Kato

NARASHINO, Japan (Reuters) - Japan on Sundayjoined the United States in criticising China's newfishing restrictions in the South China Sea, sayingthe curbs, coupled with the launch last year of an airdefence zone, has left the international communityjittery.

Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera made thecomment http://minn-kota.com after observing theJapanese Self-Defence Forces' elite airborne brigade

conducting airdrop drills designed to hone their skills to defend and retake remote islands.

Earlier on Sunday, Chinese government ships briefly entered what Japan considers its territorialwaters near a group of disputed East China Sea islets, in the first such action this year.

"Setting something like this unilaterally as if you are treating your own territorial waters, andimposing certain restrictions on fishing boats is not something that is internationally tolerated,"Onodera told reporters.

"I'm afraid not only Japan but the international society as a whole has a concern that China isunilaterally threatening the existing international order" with its new restrictions in the South ChinaSea and the creation of an air defence identification zone, he said.

The fishing rules, approved by China's southern Hainan province, took effect on January 1 andrequire foreign fishing vessels to obtain approval to enter disputed waters in the South China Sea,which the local government says are under its jurisdiction.

Washington called the fishing rules "provocative and potentially dangerous", prompting a rebuttalfrom China's foreign ministry on Friday.

Ties between China and Japan, the world's second- and third-largest economies, have been straineddue to a long-running row over ownership of the group of tiny, uninhabited islands called theSenkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

Tensions soared in recent months after Beijing announced the air defence identification zonecovering a large swathe of the East China Sea, including the disputed isles, and Japanese PrimeMinister Shinzo Abe visited a controversial Tokyo shrine seen by critics as a symbol of Japan'swartime aggression.

China and South Korea, where bitter memories of Japan's past militarism run deep, have repeatedlyexpressed anger in the past over Japanese politicians' visits to Yasukuni Shrine, where Japaneseleaders convicted as war criminals by an Allied tribunal are honoured along with those who died inbattle.

Stoking tensions further, three Chinese government ships on Sunday morning briefly entered whatJapan sees as its territorial waters near the disputed islands, controlled by Japan but also claimed byChina, the latest in such occasional entries by Chinese ships.

"We can never overlook such repeated entries. In addition to diplomatic efforts, we will cooperatewith Coast Guard and securely defend our territory and territorial waters around the Senkaku,"Onodera said.

Patrol ships from China and Japan have been shadowing each other near the islets on and off formonths, raising fears that a confrontation could develop into a clash.

(Editing by Jeremy Laurence)

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