China ships in Japan waters

A few Chinese government ships were in Japanese territorial waters off a new disputed island chain on Mon, the coastguard said, in the latest salvo of an increasingly heated international dispute.

The move came each day after China dealt a diplomatic snub to help Japan by postponing long-planned occasions marking the 40th anniversary connected with ties, as relations plumb depths not seen for many years.

It also came as Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda aware Beijing's uncompromising stance could affect its economy and also have knock-on effects on the bigger world.

Japan's coastguard said that adjusted 0200 GMT, two maritime surveillance ships the other fishery patrol boat were in sovereign waters off Uotsurijima, the greatest island in the Japanese-administered Senkaku string, which China claims as your Diaoyus.

The ships are certainly not naval vessels; maritime surveillance comes within the State Oceanic Bureau, which is area of the Ministry of Land and Sources. Their roles include law enforcement in Chinese waters.

Fisheries patrol boats come within the aegis of China's Agriculture Ministry, and have the effect of policing fishing and marine sources.

The coastguard said six different vessels were in contiguous waters, an area under international law that extends nearly 12 nautical miles outside a new territory.

Osamu Fujimura, Japan's prime government spokesman and chief cabinet secretary, said Japan has "protested strongly" over the intrusion through diplomatic channels.

Up to 14 Chinese government ships are working the area for over per week, dipping in and out connected with contiguous waters.

Beijing sent vessels towards the islands on September 11, your day Tokyo announced it had completed a deal to obtain three of the uninhabited rocks using their private owner.

Commentators say the nationalisation of the islands was intended to prevent their purchase by the nationalist governor of Tokyo, who said he wanted to develop them.

But Beijing responded angrily and unleashed a firestorm connected with protest, which also saw at times violent rallies rocking several towns, with Japanese businesses suffering vandalism and arson at the hands of rioters.

On Sunday, Chinese state media announced Beijing was "postponing" celebrations to mark the 40th anniversary of the normalisation of diplomatic ties.

A new ceremony, which was due to occur on Thursday, was to be hosted by way of a friendship organisation. It has been held every decade and not before been cancelled.

The Japanese government on Monday described your cancellation as "regrettable".

"It is vital that we deepen the all round strategic and mutually beneficial connection between Japan and China, without letting somebody event affect ties, " Fujimura instructed reporters.

Asia's two largest economies have wrangled because the 1970s about the islands, which lie on important shipping lanes and they are believed to harbour mineral sources.

Periodically the row flares, sometimes affecting the multi-billion dollar trade ties between the two nations.

Disputes have usually been salved with the passage of time.

But the latest episode, which comes as China is along the way of a delicate leadership transition so when Japan's political scene has grow to be increasingly unstable, shows no symptoms of dying down.

On Saturday around 800 Japanese demonstrators waved national flags while they marched through downtown Tokyo, denouncing Beijing to be a "brute state" and "fascist" inside the first mass-rally since the challenge began.

Japanese dailies the Mainichi and also the Yomiuri said Monday that Tokyo was hoping the two countries' foreign ministers could meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New york this week.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal ahead of the UN meet, Noda warned China's attitude could damage its economy.

He said Japanese companies were now facing a sort of economic harassment in China.

"Recent delays in customs and visa issuance usually are of concern, " he said.

"Damaging our ties over such things would be bad for not simply the two countries' economies, but also for the global economy. ".