2 Chinese patrol boats leave waters off Senkakus

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Two Chinese fisheries patrol boats left waters off the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture early Wednesday, after sailing in and around the area for almost two weeks, according to the Japan Coast Guard.

The Chinese boats sailed northward into waters about 22 kilometers from the fringes of Japanese waters, and appeared to be returning to China. No other Chinese patrol boats have been spotted near the Senkaku Islands, the JCG said.

The two Chinese vessels appeared on Sept. 24, the day the Naha District Public Prosecutors Office decided to release the Chinese trawler captain who had been detained after his boat collided with JCG vessels last month. The fisheries boats had been sailing in the areas since then.

JCG patrol boats had been monitoring the Chinese vessels around the clock, warning them not to enter Japan's territorial waters. According to the JCG, the Chinese boats had been at different locations but started heading toward China at almost the same time around dawn Wednesday.

The JCG will stay vigilant in the area, it said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku praised the JCG's response to the vessels.

"[The two Chinese boats] were sailing in the area for more than 11 days. But they didn't enter Japan's territorial waters as JCG ships were on patrol," Sengoku said at a press conference Wednesday.