China’s Assertive Patrols Alarm US Pacific Ally

China has continued its Coast Guard patrols around a disputed islet group administered by Japan in the East China Sea for a record-breaking 216 consecutive days, Tokyo has said.

The China Coast Guard previously claimed that it patrolled the Diaoyu Islands—known in Japan as the Senkaku Islands—within China’s territorial waters for the purpose of “rights protection.”

Newsweek has contacted the Chinese defense and foreign ministries for comment by email.

Why It Matters

China maintains a persistent Coast Guard presence in nearby disputed waters such as the East China Sea and the South China Sea, where Beijing’s sovereignty claims overlap with those of other countries, including Japan and the Philippines—both allies of the United States.

Following Japan’s nationalization of the Senkaku Islands in 2012, China’s Coast Guard ships—often equipped with autocannons—began assertive patrols around the uninhabited territory, raising Tokyo’s concerns that Beijing is attempting to alter the status quo.

What To Know

The Pentagon assessed in a report that the China Coast Guard possesses the largest maritime law enforcement fleet in the world, with over 150 patrol vessels weighing more than 1,000 tons—including a pair of 12,000-ton “monster ships,” the world’s largest Coast Guard vessels.

The Japan Coast Guard said four Chinese Coast Guard ships were spotted near the Senkaku Islands on Sunday, sailing within the islands’ contiguous zone—a maritime area that extends up to 27.6 miles from the coastline and lies beyond its 13.8-mile-wide territorial waters.

Another four Chinese vessels—armed with autocannons—were warned not to sail into Japan’s territorial waters around the islands on Saturday, according to the Japan Coast Guard. The previous longest continuous Chinese patrol lasted 215 consecutive days and ended in July of last year.

Throughout the past year, the China Coast Guard was spotted operating within the islands’ contiguous zone on 355 days, setting a new record compared to 352 days in 2023 and 336 days in 2022, serves as the “front-line force” for protecting China’s rights in disputed waters.

Taiwan, a self-ruled island that China views as one of its provinces, also claims the island group.

Meanwhile, Japan hosted the first trilateral Coast Guard exercise with its U.S. and Philippine counterparts on Friday, with each side deploying one vessel—including the U.S. Coast Guard cutter USCGC Stratton, which has been operating in the Western Pacific since May.

The exercise, which focused on search and rescue at sea, affirmed procedures for responding to maritime emergencies and demonstrated smooth coordination among the coast guards of the three countries, the Japanese Embassy in the Philippines said in a social-media post.

What People Are Saying

Lin Jian, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said on May 12: “Diaoyu Dao and its affiliated islands have always been China’s territory. It is fully within China’s sovereign rights to have Chinese research vessels carrying out activities in relevant waters.”

The Japanese Embassy in the Philippines said on Friday: “Japan will continue to strengthen the cooperation and coordination framework among the three coast guards and deepen efforts to realize a ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)’ through various exercises and other initiatives.”

What Happens Next

China is likely to continue its Coast Guard patrols around the Japan-administered islands. It remains to be seen how the U.S. will support its ally in countering China’s increasingly assertive maritime activities.