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Japan says Chinese survey ship Kexue left its EEZ after repeated orders to stop

Japan's coast guard says the Chinese vessel Kexue, seen running unapproved research north of Ishigaki island, left Japan's exclusive economic zone after repeated radio demands. Japan says such unapproved surveys have more than doubled this year.

2 outlets · 0L · 2C · 0R First reported Account updated
Image: Gulf News
Image: CNA

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The story, neutrally told

Centre · 2Japan's coast guard said on Tuesday 6 October that a Chinese survey ship had left Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) after being ordered repeatedly to stop research operations that Japan said were unauthorised. Centre · 2The vessel, named Kexue, was first seen on 27 September in waters about 70 kilometres north of Ishigaki island in Okinawa prefecture, Japan's southernmost, "intermittently extending wire-like objects into the sea from her side and stern", coast guard spokesman Masashi Asano told AFP. Centre · 2According to Asano, the ship left on Friday after the coast guard sent radio messages demanding the survey be halted and stating that scientific research in Japan's maritime zone without consent "will not be tolerated".

Centre · 2Asano said there have been 14 unapproved Chinese surveys in Japan's EEZ so far this year, against six last year and one or two a year in the three years before, so the number has already more than doubled. Centre · 2He said the frequency had "surged" since around the time Japan and the Philippines announced they would begin maritime border negotiations; Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos agreed on 28 May to start formal talks to delimit the EEZ and continental shelf boundary between their countries. Centre · 2The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea says scientific research in an EEZ, which extends up to 200 nautical miles (370 km) offshore, requires the agreement of the coastal nation that holds exclusive rights to explore and use its natural resources.

Centre · 2The incident comes amid poor relations: ties have been at rock bottom since Takaichi suggested in November that Tokyo might intervene in any attack on Taiwan, which Beijing claims, although she called China an "important neighbour" in a policy address on Monday and pledged a stable relationship. Centre · 2The reports add that Japanese and Chinese coast guard vessels routinely face off around the Japan-controlled Senkaku islands, which Beijing claims and calls the Diaoyu, and that China's coast guard has repeatedly clashed with the Philippines', while Beijing claims most of the South China Sea despite an international ruling that its claim has no legal basis.

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Left0 outlets

No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Centre2 outlets

Framing
Both outlets carry the same AFP-sourced account built on the Japanese coast guard spokesman's statements, framed as a Japan-China maritime friction story with regional context on the Philippines, Senkakus and Taiwan.
Emphasis
The rise in unapproved surveys (14 this year vs six last year), the UNCLOS rule and the link to Japan-Philippines boundary talks.
Leaves out or plays down
No Chinese government or ship-side response or explanation of the Kexue's activity is given; the account rests on Japanese coast guard statements.
Charged language
“rock bottom”“unapproved”
For example
“Diplomatic relations between the Asian economic giants have been at rock bottom since Takaichi suggested in November” — Gulf News
“The Chinese vessel Kexue was seen "intermittently extending wire-like objects into the sea", says Japan's coast guard.” — CNA

Right0 outlets

No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.