China aircraft carrier briefly enters Japan’s contiguous waters – report

This picture taken on August 18, 2022 shows a general view of Yonaguni Island, Okinawa prefecture. Life may seem tranquil on Japan’s remote Yonaguni island, where wild horses graze and tourists dive to spot hammerhead sharks, but China’s recent huge military exercises have rattled residents. FILE PHOTO/Agence France-Presse

TOKYO — A Chinese aircraft carrier briefly entered Japan’s contiguous waters for the first time, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed defense sources.

NHK said the Liaoning sailed between the islands of Yonaguni and Iriomote in the southern Okinawa region, temporarily entering the “contiguous” zone adjacent to Japan’s territorial sea.

The defense ministry was unable to immediately confirm the news reports.

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Contiguous waters are a 12-nautical-mile band that extends beyond territorial waters.

The move comes as Japan strongly protested early this month after a Chinese naval ship entered its territorial waters.

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And last month, Japan scrambled fighter jets after what it called the first confirmed incursion by a Chinese military aircraft into its airspace.