Japanese right-wing provocations, China strengthens law enforcement, Chinese Coast Guard legally drives away invading Japanese vessels.

[Global Times Report, Reporter Fan Wei] According to the China Coast Guard, on July 7, the Japanese fishing vessel "Ruibao Maru" illegally entered the territorial waters of China's Chiawei Island. The China Coast Guard vessels took necessary control measures and issued warnings to drive it away in accordance with the law. July 7 marks the 89th anniversary of the "Marco Polo Bridge Incident," and the choice of this date by the Japanese vessel to intrude into China's Chiawei Island, which carries painful memories for the Chinese people, naturally attracted strong attention. Experts interviewed by the Global Times stated that the Japanese vessel's choice to intrude into China's Diaoyu Island on this day is clearly an organized provocation, reflecting the resurgence of Japanese "militarism," which has already posed a real threat. "It is expected that the next step for the China Coast Guard will be to further strengthen the normalization of law enforcement for rights protection," they said.

According to previously released information, Chiawei Island is located at the easternmost point of the Diaoyu Islands and its affiliated islands, overall presenting an irregular triangular shape, about 110 kilometers from Diaoyu Island, approximately 484 meters long, 194 meters wide, with an area of about 0.065 square kilometers, and a maximum elevation of about 75 meters, with the main body of the island shaped like a spire. The island's coastline is a rocky coast, with steep cliffs, and many reefs on the north and west sides. China has previously announced the standard names for Chiawei Island and one peak, one sea-eroded pillar, and ten surrounding small islands.

On July 7, Japan's Kyodo News disclosed more details about this infringement incident. The report indicated that around 2:25 a.m. on the 7th, two Chinese Coast Guard vessels entered the waters surrounding Diaoyu Island. In response, the Japan Coast Guard's 11th District Headquarters in Naha stated that the Chinese Coast Guard vessels asserted China's claims and "approached Japanese fishing vessels." The Japanese side also claimed that they had continuously monitored Chinese government vessels' activities in the waters surrounding Diaoyu Island, including the contiguous zone, for 235 days.

"Although the information released by the Japanese side is limited, it can be seen from recent publicly available information that China's law enforcement efforts in the East China Sea are strengthening," said Yang Xiao, a researcher at the Institute of Peace and Development Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, in an interview with the Global Times on the 7th. The Japanese report indicated that there were a total of four Chinese Coast Guard enforcement vessels in the waters surrounding Diaoyu Island, which is a continuation of China's ongoing law enforcement tasks in a fleet formation in the Diaoyu Island direction. Recently, the Chinese Coast Guard's Xiushan vessel fleet replaced the Daishan vessel fleet to continue law enforcement patrols in the waters east of Taiwan Island, which means that the Chinese Coast Guard has opened up new areas for normalized law enforcement for rights protection, continuously strengthening law enforcement patrols in the waters under Chinese jurisdiction where the Japanese side attempts to create incidents, maintaining a control model of "wherever there is infringement, there will be rights protection."

Yang Xiao further analyzed the characteristics of the Japanese side's infringement actions: "The Japanese vessel 'Ruibao Maru,' which intruded into China's Chiawei Island territorial waters, appears to be a fishing boat, but in fact, it is an 'old actor' intruding into China's Diaoyu Island waters." Yang Xiao stated that the Japanese side often uses the guise of a fishing association to disturb the Diaoyu Island waters, and the so-called fishing vessels engaged in infringement activities are backed by Japanese right-wing forces. "To some extent, they are a professional infringement team nurtured by Japanese right-wing groups, undertaking tasks similar to 'maritime militia'."

Official reports released by the China Coast Guard previously indicated that the "Ruibao Maru" has repeatedly intruded into the territorial waters of China's Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islands in recent years, including intrusions into the territorial waters of Diaoyu Island and Chiawei Island in 2025, both of which were warned and driven away by Chinese Coast Guard vessels. Yang Xiao told reporters: "'Ruibao Maru' choosing to intrude into China's reef territorial waters on July 7 further illustrates that this is not a simple Japanese fishing vessel; its blatant provocation can be seen as a manifestation of Japan's 'new militarism' arrogance."

In addition to disturbing our Diaoyu Island territorial waters, the Japanese side has also recently hyped up the normal activities of Chinese vessels in the East China Sea. In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stated on the 7th that Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islands are inherent territory of China. The activities of Chinese scientific research vessels in the waters surrounding Diaoyu Island fall within China's sovereign rights, are legitimate and lawful, and cannot be questioned. China firmly opposes Japan's interference with the legitimate activities of Chinese scientific research vessels and has lodged solemn representations with the Japanese side.