Beijing protests Diaoyu incident

Tensions escalated once again between Japan and its neighbors on Tuesday as China strongly protested against "provocation" by Japanese ships in the waters off the Diaoyu Islands, calling the moves "illegal" and "troublemaking".

A group of 168 Japanese lawmakers visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on the same day, despite repeated objections from Beijing and Seoul. The visit worsened Japan's diplomatic deadlock in the region.

According to a statement issued by China's State Oceanic Administration, a fleet of Chinese marine surveillance ships on regular patrol duty found several Japanese ships in waters around the Diaoyu Islands on Tuesday.

"Organized in four formations, the eight Chinese ships monitored the Japanese ships ... and by 10 am, the Japanese vessels had left the Diaoyu waters under China's law enforcement pressure," the statement said.

Ten boats carrying about 80 Japanese activists entered the waters off the Diaoyu Islands, claiming to be conducting fishery studies, Japanese media reported.

China strongly protested and has lodged solemn representations to Japan regarding Japanese "right-wingers' illegal entry" into the waters, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at Tuesday's news conference.

Zhou Yongsheng, an expert on Japanese studies at China Foreign Affairs University, said China should fight back against any challenges from Japanese right-wingers in order to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"It's great to see that China's SOA has successfully performed its function of safeguarding territorial rights since its restructuring in March," Zhou said.