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| PLA Navy Type 054A Frigate (File Photo) |
After seven Chinese warships entered waters around the disputed Diaoyutai (Diaoyu or Senkaku) islands on Oct. 16, Huang Dong, a military analyst from Macau, says that the Japanese side may move to step up its military footing by using the crisis in the East China Sea as a pretext, reports Hong Kong-based newspaper Ming Pao.
Chinese vessels have been patrolling the area since the Japanese government nationalized three of the disputed islands on Sept. 11, though until this week the ships have been either ocean surveillance or fishery administration vessels. On Tuesday morning, a group of seven PLA vessels including two destroyers, two frigates, two submarine rescue ships and one supply ship entered the waters between the Okinawa islands of Yonaguni and Iriomote, prompting consternation in Tokyo given the current high tension between the two countries.
Read the full story at Want China Times