China-Japan tensions rise over disputed East China Sea isles

Tokyo

CHINA is stepping up pressure on Japan over disputed islands with hundreds of fishing boats and more than a dozen coastguard vessels spotted in the area, encroaching at times on what Japan sees as its territorial waters.

Japan hit back with formal complaints to China's ambassador in Tokyo over the incursions in the East China Sea, while the Nikkei newspaper said officials also protested what Japan said was the installation of a military-grade radar on a gas platform near the median line between the two nations in the area.

The latest developments mark an escalation in a long-running dispute between Asia's two largest economies over the uninhabited islands, and raise the risk of an unintended military clash. The friction al…