Japan protests over Chinese boats near disputed islands

Japan has lodged a protest with China after spotting two of its fisheries patrol boats near a disputed island chain in the East China Sea, Japan's top government spokesman Yoshito Sengoku said today.

Japan has lodged a protest with China after spotting two of its fisheries patrol boats near a disputed island chain in the East China Sea, Japan's top government spokesman Yoshito Sengoku said on Monday.

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"Last night around 9 pm (1200 GMT) our coastguard sighted them and afterwards the two (ships) left there and sailed north toward China," Sengoku, the chief cabinet secretary, told a press conference.

"After the incident we launched a protest through diplomatic channels," he added.

Beijing and Tokyo have been locked in a bitter diplomatic row that started after Japan arrested a Chinese trawler captain near the islands on September 8.