Meanwhile, Japan's
defence minister has vowed to defend the country's territory after
three Chinese government ships entered disputed waters off Tokyo-controlled
islands in the East China Sea.
The Chinese coastguard
vessels sailed at about 8:30 am local time on Sunday into territorial
waters off one of the Senkaku islands, which China also claims and
calls the Diaoyus, Japan's coastguard said. The ships left less than
two hours later.
"We can never overlook repeated incursions into territorial waters,"
Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters.