Chinese coast guard vessels have reentered waters around a group of islets contested between Beijing and Tokyo for the 96th consecutive day, Japan's maritime authorities said Tuesday.Japan's coast guard said four Chinese vessels were detected in the 24-nautical-mile contiguous zone around the Senkaku Islands, which China claims as the Diaoyu Islands, local news outlet the Sankei Shimbun reported.
The Japanese Foreign Ministry, in a March 1 summary of the situation on its website, said the Chinese coast guard's ships were attempting to unilaterally 'change the status quo by force or coercion' in the waters.'This includes approaching Japanese fishing vessels inside Japanese territorial waters and intrusions by ships mounted with artillery,' the statement continued.