September 1, 2016 — In early August, Japan’s coast guard witnessed an unconventional Chinese assault on its territorial waters.
According to Japanese officials I met with last week, at least 300 Chinese “fishing vessels” began incursions into the exclusive economic zone around the uninhabited Senkaku Islands, disputed territory administered by Japan but claimed by China and Taiwan as well.
Japan has seen similar probing activities for years. But in August, the Chinese escalated. There were far more boats than before, and the Chinese sent armed coast guard vessels to accompany these “fishermen.”
This may sound fairly benign compared to the shooting wars in Ukraine and Syria. But for Japan, the matter could not be more serious. Its military assesses that many of these sailors are really Chinese militia irregulars, similar to the non-uniformed “little green men” whom Russia has sent to eastern Ukraine to stir up separatist sentiment. Call them “little green boats.”
Nonetheless, Japan has gone out of its way not to take China’s bait and respond militarily. Instead, it sends its own coast guard to escort the boats and inform them of their trespassing over loudspeakers.
Diplomatically, Japanese officials have taken to lodging angry, formal complaints in late-night phone calls to their Chinese counterparts, a tactic usually favored by Beijing’s envoys.
There are three reasons Americans should watch the rising tensions in the East China Sea carefully.