China and Japan have repeatedly faced off around the Japan-administered islands, which Beijing calls Diaoyu and Tokyo calls the Senkaku.

A China coast guard ship formation passed through the waters of the Senkaku Islands on Sunday on a “rights enforcement patrol,” the coast guard said in a statement, as Beijing ramps up tensions with Japan over its prime minister’s remarks about Taiwan.

A diplomatic spat between China and Japan has intensified since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told parliament on Nov. 7 that a hypothetical Chinese attack on democratically ruled Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo.

The remarks sparked an angry response from Beijing, which has signaled that it expects Takaichi to retract them in some fashion.

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