Chinese ships enter disputed waters: Japan THREE Chinese government ships have entered disputed waters, the Japanese coastguard says. Maritime surveillance vessels sailed near the Japanese-controlled Senkaku islands on Friday morning, according to the coastguard. Beijing refers to the disputed islands as the Diaoyus. Japan cannot accept this. This is extremely regrettable," Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told a regular briefing on Friday, adding his ministry had conveyed these sentiments to the Chinese embassy.