China removes its buoy from Japan’s EEZ near Senkakus

This file photo taken in September 2012 shows the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.

China said Tuesday it has moved a buoy it had installed inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone near the Tokyo-controlled, Beijing-claimed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, in an apparent gesture to improve strained ties with the neighbouring country.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a press conference that the hydro meteorological buoy has “completed its task at the site” and was relocated as part of a “voluntary and technical adjustment” by Chinese agencies.

The Japanese government had repeatedly called for the buoy’s removal since its presence was confirmed in July 2023 near the uninhabited Senkakus, which are called Diaoyu in China.

The Japan Coast Guard said Tuesday on its website that a buoy set up in waters to the northeast of Taiwan had disappeared.

Meanwhile, another buoy Japan confirmed last December in its EEZ south of Yonaguni Island in the southern prefecture of Okinawa has not been removed, a Japanese government source said.

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya demanded that Beijing remove the newly confirmed object when he met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing in late December.

The EEZ extends some 370 kilometers from Japanese shores.Guo stressed that China’s installation of the buoy near the Senkakus was “consistent with both domestic and international laws” and the relocation was based on “the actual need of science and observation.”

According to diplomatic sources, China told Japan around the summer of 2024 that it would remove the buoy, with Japan closely monitoring the situation to make sure Beijing followed through.

The topic was also discussed by officials from both countries during high-level consultations on maritime affairs in Tokyo in October.

China regularly sends its vessels into Japanese territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands.