By Li Hongmei
Three Chinese surveillance ships No.66, No.26 and No.46 sailed in waters around the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea for about five hours on Sunday. For the duration, they spotted and expelled the Japanese vessels that ventured into the Chinese territorial waters after monitoring and obtaining evidence.
The Chinese maritime surveillance vessels were spotted inside the 12-nautical-mile zone off the Diaoyu islands shortly after 10:00 a.m. (0100 GMT), the Japan's coast guard also said. They left the zone at 3:14 p.m., it said later.
The move was the latest in a long series of ship stand-offs from both sides. A territorial row that dates back four decades reignited last September when Tokyo "nationalized" three islands in the Diaoyu Islands chain, which China claims as part of its territorial since ancient times.
