Brussels: The Chinese Maritime Police have driven off a Japanese fishing boat from the area around disputed islands in the East China Sea, spokesman for the China Maritime Police Bureau Liu Dejun said on Sunday.

According to Namibia Press Agency, on April 5-6, a Japanese fishing boat 'illegally entered China's territorial waters around the Diaoyu Islands,' Liu stated on WeChat. He added that the Chinese Maritime Police ships took all necessary measures, issued a warning, and drove off the boat.

The spokesman emphasized that the Diaoyu Islands are China's territory and urged Japan to 'immediately stop all the illegal activities in the area.'

China and Japan continue to have a territorial dispute over the Diaoyu Islands, also known as the Senkaku Islands. Following World War II, the islands were controlled by the United States and subsequently handed over to Japan in 1972. Beijing opposes this decision, citing historical Japanese maps from 1783 and 1785 that marked the islands as Chinese territory. The conflict intensified in 2012 when the Japanese authorities purchased five of the islands from a private Japanese owner.