Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, left, with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last Friday.
(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
Three Chinese warships sailed near the contested Senkaku Islands Monday, in a rare move apparently sending a message to the U. S. just two days after President Trump’s defense secretary visited Japan and vowed to defend the islands.
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The ships sailed within Japan’s territorial waters some 12 nautical miles off the islands in the East China Sea, roughly 140 miles northeast of Taiwan, a U. S. defense official told Fox News.
On his first overseas trip as defense secretary, Jim Mattis, speaking in Tokyo, said China “has shredded the trust” of countries in the region by building up man-made islands in the South China Sea. He also said the U. S. commitment to protect Japanese territory applied to its islands in the East China Sea.
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Mattis later called for all regional disputes over territory to be handled peacefully during a press conference alongside his Japanese counterpart, Minister of Defense Tomomi Inada.
The Chinese, who also lay claim to the Senkakus, call the uninhabited islands the Diaoyus.
Japan has laid claim to the islands since the late 19 th -century.
