East China Sea: China envoy says "big catch of fish" was around Senkakus

China's envoy to Japan said Wednesday that recent large-scale sailings of Chinese fishing and government vessels around disputed islands in the East China Sea were due to a "big catch of fish" seen in the area, a top Japanese ruling party official told reporters.

The explanation given by the envoy came as Chinese government vessels, as many as 15 at one point, have entered Japanese territorial waters near the Japan-controlled, China-claimed Senkaku Islands in recent days, despite repeated protests by Japan. China calls the uninhabited islets Diaoyu.

Toshihiro Nikai, secretary general of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said he was told by Cheng Yonghua that "fish were markedly concentrated" in the area around the islets.
 ==Kyodo
10/8/16
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