Japanese vessels are chased away from disputed waters by the China Coast Guard.

Chinese state media reported that, China’s coast guard ordered Japanese ships to leave the waters surrounding disputed islets in the East China Sea on Monday.

Chinese and Japanese claims to disputed islets in the East China Sea have long been a source of friction between the two countries. Japan refers to the islands as Senkaku, whereas China refers to them as Diaoyu.

Chinese coast guard vessels drove the ‘Shinsei Maru’ and four other Japanese ships out of the Diaoyu islands’ territorial waters, according to a representative for the China Marine Police named Gan Yu.

A report by Gan says, ‘We implore the Japanese side to immediately cease all illegal actions in these waters and make sure that similar situations won’t happen again.’