A group of 15 patriots from Chinese inland and Hong Kong have lately reached the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea by a fishing boat to proclaim that the islands belong to China, thus launching a defense action of a large scale in recent years.

According to China Youth Daily report, the "Diaoyu Islands Defense" boat set out from Wenzhou on June 22, and reached the sea area northwest of the Island by 11:30 the following day. Hanging on their mast national flag of China and the flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), the group members read a statement by speakers protesting the Japanese government's illegal actions of "leasing and using" the islands and imposing "national administration" over them. The action, the organizer said, was aimed to support the Chinese government's claim of indisputable sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands, fight back Japanese provocations on Chinese territory and defend the national dignity of the Chinese nation.

The activity was launched by non-governmental organizations and all group members were volunteers, during which no extreme, illegal actions were permitted to take. On the morning of June 22, another defense group gathered in front of the Japanese Consulate General to Hong Kong, reiterated China's sovereignty over the islands and protested Japan's control in the way of "leasing".

However, the defense action met obstruction and interference from the Japanese side. On the morning of June 22, Japan's marine security departments sent out surveillance planes and then dispatched three large patrol boats to upset the normal route of China's fishing boat. As learned, the Japan side has announced to take responding actions according to Japanese laws.

In recent years patriots from Chinese mainland and Hong Kong launched many times such defense actions. On September 1996, four people from Hong Kong were forced to jump into the sea and one was dead. On June 1998, a defense boat sank after collision with Japanese ships, but the Japan side claimed it as a self-sinking accident.

The Chinese Embassy to Japan has delivered a note to the foreign ministry of Japan, hoping the latter would draw lessons from the 1996 conflicts and handle the matter with calm.

(People's Daily June 25, 2003)