Research ship warned off Okinawa as Arunachal and Manila disputes flare
Japan's coast guard warned a Chinese research ship lowering a wire near Okinawa. A party team in Arunachal Pradesh reported Chinese advances on the border line, while Beijing and Manila traded accusations over worker detentions.
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Chinese research ship warned off after lowering a wire near Okinawa
The Japan Coast Guard spotted the Chinese research vessel Dong Fang Hong 2 lowering a wire-like object into the sea inside Japan's exclusive economic zone about 106 km west of the Okinawa island of Kume on Sunday afternoon, and radioed the ship to stop. The regional coast guard headquarters in Naha said marine research without Japan's consent is not permitted. The same headquarters said another Chinese vessel, the Xiang Yang Hong 21, was operating inside Japan's exclusive economic zone off the Okinawa island of Kuba on Saturday and left the area that evening. The two states read their maritime entitlements in the area differently, and such transits are a recurring point of friction between Tokyo and Beijing.[1]
Upper Subansiri team reports Chinese advances on the border line
A four-member fact-finding team sent to the Upper Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh, in north-east India, reported that Chinese forces have advanced along the border line. Kaling Jerang, vice-president of the People's Party of Arunachal Pradesh, which sent the team, said Indian forces cannot patrol the Taksing area from April to October when weather closes the route, while Chinese forces remain active year-round. The report claims Indian forces abandoned a patrolling point called Shera 5 after a confrontation with China's People's Liberation Army in 2023; that account rests on what residents told the team and has not been independently confirmed. In New Delhi the opposition has criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for staying silent on the border claims. Large parts of the 3,488-kilometre India-China border are disputed, and the two states do not even agree on where the Line of Actual Control runs.[2]
Beijing and Manila trade accusations over worker detentions
China's embassy in Manila accused the Philippine defence secretary, Gilberto Teodoro, of carrying out anti-China activities to disrupt bilateral ties and questioned why he had interfered in a law-enforcement operation. Manila called the criticism a classic example of evasiveness and an implied admission of culpability. The dispute concerns a May operation at the Sanjia Steel Corporation plant in Misamis Oriental, where 70 Chinese nationals said to be undocumented were detained; all have since been released. Teodoro had earlier described Beijing's approach as a squid tactic of disinformation through avoidance. The exchange comes with South China Sea tensions unresolved, even though President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has said he wants to reset relations with Beijing.[3]
