TOKYO: The Japan Coast Guard announced on Monday that it was searching for seven people who went missing after their boat capsized in waters off the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku islets, which are also claimed by China. The islets are in dispute between Japan and China.
A Japanese navy patrol that was conducting operations in the region discovered the capsized vessel on Sunday afternoon as it was adrift in waters to the north of the islands, according to a coastguard spokesman named Keisuke Nakao who spoke to AFP.
He went on to say that one person from Taiwan and six people from Indonesia make up each crew.
Since the Maritime Self-Defense Force provided them with the information at approximately 1:30 pm (0430 GMT) on Sunday, they have been conducting a search of the area with patrol ships and helicopters, as he explained.
The Japanese local media reported that the boat was Taiwanese, but the Japanese coastguard stated that they did not yet have many details on the vessel, but that it “seems to be a fishing boat.”
According to Nakao, Japanese authorities are coordinating their efforts with their equivalents in Taiwan, who also has a claim to the Senkaku islets. Diaoyu Islands is the name that Beijing has given to the uninhabited territory.
