US Ally Expels Chinese Ship Armed With ‘Cannon’

The Japanese coast guard said it intervened in territorial waters around the disputed Senkaku Islands on Friday to expel a flotilla of intruding Chinese coast guard ships, including one armed with a “cannon.” The Chinese government vessels entered claimed territorial waters around the islets for about two hours and pursued three Japanese fishing boats in the area, Japan’s Jiji Press cited the Japanese coast guard as saying. The incident happened just days before China’s coast guard set a new record on Monday for consecutive days of patrols in waters near the islets—158 days since December 22, 2023 according to Japan’s…