Japan Says Three Chinese Ships in Disputed Waters

Chinese government ships temporarily entered the territorial waters of disputed Tokyo-controlled islands on Tuesday, Japan's coastguard said.

The three surveillance ships were navigating for about five and a half hours in the 12-nautical-mile limit around the Senkakus, which Beijing claims and calls the Diaoyus, the coastguard said.

They had all left the area by 3:40 pm (0640 GMT), it added.

Chinese government ships have frequently spent time around the disputed island chain since Tokyo nationalized three of the isles last September.

However, the frequency of what Japan sees as intrusions on its sovereignty has decreased in recent months and the rhetoric between Asia's two largest economies has cooled.

The islands are also claimed by Taiwan.