Taiwan And Japan In Water Cannon Sea Skirmish

Japanese and Taiwanese coastguards duelled with water cannon in the latest skirmish over disputed Japanese-controlled islands.

The two vessels squared up in the East China Sea

The two sides clashed after Japanese coastguards fired water at a fishing boat carrying Taiwanese activists which had planned to land on the islands, forcing them to turn back.

The Taiwanese coastguards stepped in to defend them.

The disputed islands, in an area where the seabed is believed to harbour valuable mineral reserves, are known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese. Both China and Taiwan claim them.

A Japanese coastguard vessel sprays water cannon

Adding to tensions, as the stand-off unfolded, three Chinese surveillance vessels were spotted close by, a Taiwanese coastguard said.

The coastguard added that it was the first time ships from China had been spotted near a Taiwanese-Japanese incident, and that it had sent a radio message to the three boats to keep their distance in order not to complicate matters.

The incident came at a time of growing regional concern because of intensified friction over the islands between China and Japan, with both Beijing and Tokyo recently scrambling fighter jets to assert their claims to the area.

The patrol boat turns its spray on the fishing boats

The Japanese coastguard confirmed that it took action after encountering the Taiwanese vessel.

"Our patrol boat carried out restrictions on the vessel such as blocking its path and discharging water," it said in a statement.

Taiwan's coastguard said four of its vessels on routine patrols in the area had protected the activists' boat.

The Taiwanese boat was forced to turn back

"The coastguard will protect our people's voluntary actions to defend the Diaoyu islands. Coastguard vessels will go wherever the fishing boat is ... to defend our sovereignty and protect our fishing rights."                

A Japanese foreign ministry spokesman said: "We have repeatedly called on the Taiwan side to take proper action in order to prevent an unfavourable situation from arising in the favourable Japan-Taiwan relations."

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