China Naval Spats in Disputed Waters Draw Mounting Protests

March 9 (Bloomberg) -- Japan joined Vietnam and the Philippines in protesting against China’s actions in disputed waters in the past week, drawing attention to the potential for clashes in resource-rich areas that are key to trade.

Japan yesterday made a formal protest after a Chinese helicopter buzzed a Japanese destroyer in the East China Sea, Japan’s defense minister said. Japan today warned a Chinese fishing patrol vessel not to enter waters near disputed islands, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said in Tokyo.

Japan’s protest follows a diplomatic dispute between Asia’s biggest economies after a Chinese fishing boat collided with Japanese coast guard vessels in the same waters in September. Complaints from Vietnam and the Philippines over separate incidents in the South China Sea underscore growing pressure on China to abide by a defined code of conduct.

“It highlights the absence of any kind of agreements among Asian countries to avoid potentially dangerous situations at sea between warships,” Ian Storey, a fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asia Studies in Singapore, said today by telephone. “The other thing that links the three is China’s increasing ability to use its naval assets to pursue its claims, and to show its presence in East Asia’s waters.”

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Russian frontiersmen say they did not fire at Japanese vessels

Officers of Sakhalin coast guard department confuted the information reported yesterday by Japanese news agencies about attack on Japanese fishermen off South Kuril Islands, reports Wednesday RIA Novosti referring to a representative of Russian FSB Frontier Service. 

"Our colleagues neither fired at Japanese fishing vessels nor even opened cautionary fire", said the interviewee. 

Referring to Japan's maritime security service, news agency Kyodo reported that Russian frontiersmen fired illuminating projectiles at a Japanese fishing vessel near Habomai Islands. According to the agency, probably Japanese fishermen appeared within Russian territorial waters. Maritime security department of Nemuro (Hokkaido prefecture) kicked off an investigation which will be continued when the ships return to home port. Representatives of Japanese maritime security service refused to comment the incident until any findings.