Taiwanese ships clash with Japanese coast guard over disputed islands

Japanese coast guard ships shoot water cannon at Taiwanese fishing boats in the East China Sea in a territorial dispute. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

By NBC's Arata Yamamoto and wire reports

About 50 Taiwanese vessels on Tuesday entered waters near a group of uninhabited islands at the center of a bitter territorial dispute involving Japan, China and Taiwan.

Japanese public broadcaster NHK showed footage of a Japanese coast guard ship shooting water at a Taiwanese fishing boat, while a Taiwanese patrol vessel blasted water at the coast guard ship in reply during an incident near the disputed Senkaku or Diaoyu islands, as they are known respectively in Japan and China/Taiwan.

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The Taiwanese vessels – 40 fishing boats and 10 coast guard ships – entered the waters to protest the recent Japanese government's purchase of the islands from a private owner.

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But by noon Tuesday all of the Taiwanese vessels had left the area, the Japanese coast guard said, after claiming their rights to fish in the area.

Japan infuriates China by buying disputed isles

The islands were nationalized by the Japanese government this month after it emerged that the outspoken governor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara, had been in negotiations with the islands' owner to seal a more provocative deal by promising to build an emergency port for Japanese fishermen and various weather and communications facilities.

Osamu Fujimura, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary, said during a morning press conference that Japan had lodged a protest with Taiwan.

Yomiuri Shimbun / AFP - Getty Images

A Japanese coast guard vessel (right) sprays water against Taiwanese fishing boats, while a Taiwanese coast guard ship (left) also sprays water in the East China Sea Tuesday.

"In terms of the security surrounding the Senkaku Islands, we will continue to work together with the relevant ministries with a sense of alertness, and gather various information and vigilantly monitor the situation," he said.

"Our position is that this needs to be resolved under framework of our friendly ties with Taiwan, and to deal with the situation calmly," he added.