China’s intrusions into Japanese waters ‘surged’ in 2026
Agence France-Presse
Unauthorized surveys by Chinese ships in Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) have more than doubled in 2026 compared to the previous year, the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) said.
A recent maritime incursion ended in October after the Coast Guard repeatedly ordered a Chinese ship to cease research operations, spokesman Masashi Asano said. The Kexue left Japan’s EEZ following radio transmissions “demanding the survey be halted, stating that scientific research in our maritime zone without … consent will not be tolerated,” Asano said.
Nations retain exclusive rights to exploration and natural resources within their EEZs, which extend up to 200 nautical miles from their coastline, according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. States must seek permission to conduct scientific research within another nation’s EEZ.
The frequency of unapproved surveys in Japan’s EEZ has surged since Japan and the Philippines announced in May 2026 that they would begin maritime boundary negotiations, Asano said. There were 14 cases by October 2026 compared to six in 2025 and one or two in the previous three years.
Manila and Tokyo agreed to “delimit the maritime boundary of the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf between the two countries … in order to enhance legal certainty in the region,” according to a joint statement. The nations want to secure crucial sea lanes and establish a combined legal front against geopolitical pressure.
China claims the negotiations are illegal unless it participates and has deployed coast guard and naval vessels near the overlapping boundary, which is close to Taiwan. Beijing contends the self-governed island is its territory and threatens to annex it by force.
Beijing also claims most of the South China Sea, a vital global trade route, despite an international tribunal’s ruling in 2016 that its assertion has no legal standing.
The Kexue was first seen in September 2026 about 70 kilometers north of Ishigaki island in Japan’s southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, Asano said. The ship was “intermittently extending wire-like objects into the sea from her side and stern,” he said.
China Coast Guard vessels frequently operate in the contiguous zone around the Japan-controlled Senkakus in the East China Sea, uninhabited islands and rock outcroppings that Beijing claims.
They also repeatedly clash with Philippine government and fishing vessels operating lawfully within Manila’s EEZ in the South China Sea, drawing international condemnation and sparking concerns over an armed conflict.
