BEIJING: China's coast guard said a Japanese fishing vessel "illegally entered" China's territorial waters around Diaoyu Islands on Oct 15-16 and was warned to leave.fc188

"We urge the Japanese side to immediately stop all illegal activities in these waters," a coast guard spokesperson said in a statement.

The coast guard said it would continue to carry out maritime rights protection and law enforcement activities in waters under its jurisdiction.

Japan rejects China's claims to the islands and over the past few months the two countries have had a number of confrontations in the area.

Back in June, Japan lodged a protest against Beijing after it said Chinese vessels carrying what appeared to be cannons had entered its territorial waters in the East China Sea surrounding the disputed islands, which Tokyo calls the Senkaku and Beijing calls the Diaoyu.

Weeks later, Japan lodged another protest after one of China's naval survey vessels entered Japanese waters. An uptick in Chinese military activity near Japan and around Taiwan in recent years has stoked concerns in Tokyo.

China has also had a number of altercations with the Philippines over disputed waters in the South China Sea. Beijing claims sovereignty over nearly the entire area.

A Hague arbitration tribunal ruled in 2016 that Beijing's claim to 90 per cent of the South China Sea had no basis in international law.fc188

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