Japan coastguards arrest Chinese fishing boat captain in territorial row The Chinese coral fishing boat with an 11-strong crew was sighted inside Japan's exclusive economic zone near Miyako Island, which is around 130 miles from Tokyo-administered Senkaku Islands, which are also claimed by China. Japanese coastguards patrolling the region from the air spotted the vessel and subsequently arrested the 44-year-old Chinese captain on suspicion of fishing illegally without permission. "After receiving information from our aeroplane, three of our patrol boats approached the Chinese ship, and they are now sailing back to Miyako with the Chinese ship," said a spokesman for Japan's coastguard. Tensions in the East China Sea region surrounding the disputed islands, known as the Diaoyus in China, have risen sharply since last September, when Tokyo took steps to nationalise three of the five islands in the group. Since then, a growing number of incidents have placed increasing pressure on Tokyo-Beijing relations, with Chinese government ships regularly encircling the disputed islands. Last month, tensions peaked as Tokyo accused a Chinese vessel of locking its weapons-tracking radar on a Japanese destroyer, provoking increased fears of armed conflict over the long-running dispute. The latest arrest came just days after Lu Xinhua, a spokesman for the Chinese national legislature's chief advisory body, warned that if a clash occurred in the region, Japan would "be held solely responsible for all consequences." Simmering tensions have flared regularly in the region in recent years, with the arrest of a Chinese fishing captain in September 2010 also escalating rapidly into a major diplomatic incident. Last summer, Japan also arrested 14 Chinese citizens who attempted to plant a Chinese flag on the disputed islands on the 67th anniversary of Japan's surrender at the end of the Second World War.