China Targets Another US Ally’s Disputed Territory

China plans to send government vessels near a group of Japan-controlled islands on every day of 2024 in order to assert its claim to the disputed territory, according to a report out of Tokyo. During a recent visit to the Chinese coast guard’s East China Sea command headquarters, Chinese leader Xi Jinping emphasized the need to “constantly strengthen” efforts around the Senkaku Islands, Japan’s Kyodo News said Saturday, citing an unnamed source. Known in Chinese as the Diaoyu Islands, the uninhabited Senkakus comprise five islets and three rocks approximately 200 miles southwest of Japan’s Okinawa prefecture. Beijing and Tokyo have…