China to Allow Coast Guard to Use Weapons in Waters It Claims

BEIJING --– China will allow its coast guard to use weapons when foreign ships involved in illegal activities in waters it controls fail to obey orders, such as to stop, a bill unveiled by a body of the country's parliament showed Wednesday.

As Beijing claims that the Senkaku Islands, which are administered by Tokyo, are part of its territory, the envisioned law could target Japanese vessels navigating around the uninhabited islets. The tiny islands in the East China Sea are called Diaoyu by Beijing.

The Japanese government said earlier in the day that a Chinese ship was spotted in the so-called contiguous zone outside Japanese waters, adding that Chinese vessels had now been observed near the isles for 285 days this year and also for the 59th day in a row.

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