Japan survey vessels expelled from sea

Updated: 2012-02-25 09:30

By Wang Qian (China Daily)

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East China Sea - During routine patrols conducted in the sea since Feb 18, two Chinese surveillance ships expelled a pair of Japanese Coast Guard survey vessels and planes.

The patrols were being carried out in waters near the Chunxiao, Pinghu and Suyan Rock gas fields and the China-Japan joint development zone, which encompasses 2,600 square kilometers of the East China Sea.

On Feb 19, a China Marine Surveillance ship detected the Japanese survey ship called Shoyo cruising at a low speed, as well as a Japanese Coast Guard vessel called Takuyo, in water near the Chunxiao gas field.

An official on the Chinese patrol ship said that to be considered to be moving at a low speed, a vessel must be going slower than 5 knots (9.3 kilometers an hour). Proceeding at such a speed is an indicator that a ship is carrying out activities such as surveying and investigation.

The China Marine Surveillance ship came within about 550 meters of the Japanese survey ship to monitor its movement, eventually demanding the ship stop conducting illegal investigations in China's jurisdictional waters.

On the morning of Feb 20, the two ships left that part of the sea.

From Feb 18 to 23, Japan Coast Guard planes made about 7 flights above the patrol ship.

China has conducted routine patrols in the East China Sea since 2006. The patrol now occurs every month, said an official from China Marine Surveillance, China's offshore marine law enforcement agency.

In recent years, the agency has strengthened its ability to both enforce the country's laws and protect its maritime interests, said a senior official from the agency who declined to give his name.

Meanwhile, China Marine Surveillance will encourage its provincial-level branches to participate in the patrol work.

China has carried out routine patrols in the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and South China Sea since 2006.

By the end of 2010, marine surveillance ships had conducted 1,668 patrols, going 1.6 million nautical miles (2.96 million kilometers), and 1,944 patrols had been carried out by planes, which went a total distance of 1.98 million kilometers.

In 2010, those ships and planes detected more than 400 cases of alleged infringement on Chinese marine interests.

Besides routine patrols, China Marine Surveillance has conducted special patrols. In 2006, it guarded exploration and development work in the East China Sea.

From June to August 2010, the agency had 19 ships and four planes conduct a special patrol in the South China Sea. During that mission, 228 foreign ships were intercepted and expelled from Chinese waters.

Zhao Ruixue in Beijing contributed to this story.