China Coastguard Says it Warns off Japanese Ships in Disputed Waters

File Photo: Photo nearby Ukedo fishing port in Namie town, northeastern Japan, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
File Photo: Photo nearby Ukedo fishing port in Namie town, northeastern Japan, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
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China Coastguard Says it Warns off Japanese Ships in Disputed Waters

File Photo: Photo nearby Ukedo fishing port in Namie town, northeastern Japan, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
File Photo: Photo nearby Ukedo fishing port in Namie town, northeastern Japan, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

The Chinese coastguard said its vessels warned off Japanese ships that "illegally intruded" into waters around disputed East China Sea islets on Tuesday.

The Chinese vessels "took necessary control measures", the coastguard added, without going into details. There was no immediate comment from Japan, Reuters reported.

China urged Japan to immediately cease all "illegal activities" in the area and ensure that similar incidents do not recur, the coastguard added.

The waters around Diaoyu Islands, which Japan calls the Senkaku Islands, are disputed and claimed by both China and Japan. The two sides have faced off in the waters, deploying patrol boats and urging the other to leave the area.



Russia Is Ready to Mediate on Iran, and to Accept Tehran’s Uranium, Kremlin Says 

Smoke billows for the second day from the Shahran oil depot, northwest of Tehran, on June 16, 2025. (AFP)
Smoke billows for the second day from the Shahran oil depot, northwest of Tehran, on June 16, 2025. (AFP)
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Russia Is Ready to Mediate on Iran, and to Accept Tehran’s Uranium, Kremlin Says 

Smoke billows for the second day from the Shahran oil depot, northwest of Tehran, on June 16, 2025. (AFP)
Smoke billows for the second day from the Shahran oil depot, northwest of Tehran, on June 16, 2025. (AFP)

Russia remains ready to act as a mediator in the conflict between Israel and Iran, and Moscow's previous proposal to store Iranian uranium in Russia remains on the table, the Kremlin said on Monday.

Tehran says it has the right to peaceful nuclear power, but its swiftly-advancing uranium enrichment program has raised fears in the wider West and across the region that it wants to develop a nuclear weapon.

Russia’s previous proposals on taking uranium to Russia remains on the table "it remains relevant. But, of course, with the outbreak of hostilities, the situation has become seriously complicated," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

US President Donald Trump expressed optimism on Sunday that peace would come soon and cited the possibility that Russian President Vladimir Putin could help.

Russia, Peskov said, remained ready to mediate if needed, but he noted the root causes of the conflict needed to be addressed and eliminated - and that the military strikes were escalating the entire crisis to beyond serious levels.

"Russia remains ready to do everything necessary to eliminate the root causes of this crisis," Peskov said. "But the situation is escalating more than seriously, and, of course, this is not affecting the situation for the better."

Asked about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks to Fox News on Sunday that regime change in Iran could be a result of Israel's military attacks, Peskov said that the Kremlin had seen the remarks.

"You know that we condemn those actions that have led to such a dangerous escalation of tension in the region," Peskov said. "And secondly, we also note a significant consolidation of society in Iran against the background of the bombing that is currently being carried out by the Israeli side."