<span style="color: #222222;">Chinese Coast Guard vessels on Saturday entered the waters around the Japanese-administered and China-claimed Senkaku islands for the first time since China passed a new law earlier this month that allows its Coast Guard to use military force in waters the country claims. The Japan Coast Guard said in a statement, it had sent vessels to the area to protect the fishing ships while repeatedly urging the Chinese ships to leave the area. Two other Chinese Government ships were spotted in the so-called contiguous zone just outside the territorial waters, it added. The Chinese Government ships had left the territorial waters, joining the two other vessels in the contiguous zone after around eight hours, according to the Japan Coast Guard.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Local media reported that China has ramped up the number of operations its coast guard and other government vessels conduct around the Senkakus in recent times. During an online Japan-China meeting on maritime issues on Wednesday, Tokyo expressed strong concern over the new law, which also authorizes the Chinese coast guard to seize foreign ships entering waters claimed by Beijing. China's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that it had insisted in the bilateral meeting that the law is perfectly in line with international law and practice.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">In addition to its claim to the Senkakus, China has maritime sovereignty disputes with several Southeast Asian countries in the South China Sea. U.S. President Joe Biden, in phone talks with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga late last month, reiterated Washington's unwavering commitment to protecting the Senkakus under the two countries' longtime security treaty.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">China's new Coast Guard Law has stoked concern in Japan. The islets sit in rich fishing waters of the East China Sea and are believed to be home to vast mineral and gas deposits. The Japan Coast Guard, meanwhile, is bound by strict regulations governing the use of weapons under law, which bans it from conducting military activities.</span><br />''  <br />