Japan Protests Chinese Warship Near Disputed Islands

Japanese Coast Guard vessel and boats (rear and right) sail alongside a Japanese activists' fishing boat (center) near a group of disputed islands called Diaoyu by China and Senkaku by Japan on Aug. 18, 2013. Emily Wang/AP Photo

TOKYO—Japan protested to Beijing after spotting Chinese and Russian warships just outside its territorial waters around the disputed East China Sea islands on Monday.

Japan’s Defense Ministry said a Chinese frigate sailed inside the “contiguous zone,” just outside Japanese territorial waters around Senkaku Islands, which the Chinese regime also claims and calls the Diaoyu, for several minutes Monday morning.