China Coast Guard Keeps Near-Daily Watch over Japan-administered Senkaku Islands

China has laid out the scale of its maritime push in contested Asian waters, saying its coast guard has maintained an almost constant presence around the disputed Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands while expanding patrols across key seas bordering China.

China Coast Guard (CCG) chief Zhang Jianming said the service conducted 550,000 vessel sorties and 6,000 aircraft sorties in the past five years to enforce Beijing’s “maritime rights.” During that period, the CCG carried out 134 patrol missions in waters claimed by China around the Diaoyu Dao. These patrols were conducted on 357 days in 2025.

Zhang said the operations were conducted under Chinese law to counter “foreign infringements and provocations.” He said the coast guard now conducts routine rights-protection patrols across the East China Sea, South China Sea, and Yellow Sea, while also carrying out law-enforcement missions around Taiwan and its affiliated islets, and in waters surrounding Huangyan Dao.

The Japan-administered Senkaku Islands remain one of East Asia’s most sensitive flashpoints. Reports published last year claimed that Beijing appeared to be increasing coast guard and naval activity in the East China Sea as it seeks to reinforce its presence in contested waters.

The patrol tempo comes as tensions sharpen over Taiwan. China claims the self-governed island as its territory and has not ruled out the use of force, while Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s claim and says only the island’s people can decide their future. Japan, a U.S. ally, has warned that a conflict over Taiwan would have direct implications for its security.

The islands sit along the first island chain, a strategic arc running from Japan through Taiwan to the Philippines that plays a central role in U.S. and allied efforts to constrain China’s naval reach into the Pacific.