On July 7, 2026, Japan’s Coast Guard expelled two Chinese coast guard ships from waters near the disputed Senkaku Islands after the vessels approached a Japanese fishing boat, the Zuihou Maru, around 9:20 a.m. local time [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. Four Chinese coast guard ships had been sailing near the islands before two entered the waters Japan claims as its territorial sea [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7].
The Japan Coast Guard deployed patrol vessels to protect the Japanese fishing boat during the incursion, issuing orders that successfully forced the Chinese ships to leave Japanese waters by 9:20 a.m., according to the Japan Coast Guard which described the Chinese ships’ actions as a violation of international law. "The Japan Coast Guard will continue to respond calmly and resolutely in accordance with international and domestic law, and will take every possible measure to ensure the security of our territorial waters," they said [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7].
China’s Coast Guard rejected Japan’s account. A Chinese spokesperson, Jiang Lue, said the Japanese fishing vessel had intruded into Chinese-claimed waters near Chiwei Yu, the easternmost island of the disputed Diaoyu Islands, and that Chinese vessels took necessary legal measures to warn and expel the fishing boat. Jiang stated, "Diaoyu Dao and its affiliated islands are China’s inherent territory. We urge Japan to immediately stop all infringement and provocative acts in relevant waters" [2, 3, 8, 9, 5, 10, 11, 12, 7].
The Senkaku Islands — known as the Diaoyu Islands in China — lie between Taiwan and Okinawa and are a long-standing flashpoint causing diplomatic tensions between the two countries [1, 2, 3, 4, 6]. Relations worsened in November 2025 after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made comments regarding Taiwan that led to Chinese protests and trade restrictions against Japan [1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 6]. The July 7 standoff coincided with the 89th anniversary of the July 7 Lugou Bridge incident, a historical date tied to China-Japan hostilities [10, 11].
Japan claims that the Chinese coast guard ships’ entry into its territorial waters violated international law and vowed to continue protecting its territorial security "calmly and resolutely" [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. China maintains it expelled the Japanese vessel for illegal intrusion [8, 9, 10, 11, 12].
The last prior incursion of Chinese ships into Japan-claimed waters near the islands was on June 10, 2026 [1, 2, 3, 10, 6]. Both sides remain on alert in the disputed maritime area following the latest incident.
