The Japan Coast Guard (JCG) confirmed there were four China Coast Guard vessels in the contiguous zone outside Japan’s territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands (Ishigaki City, Okinawa Prefecture) on April 20. This was the fifth consecutive day that Chinese government ships were sighted near the Senkakus. According to the 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters in Naha, one of the Chinese vessels appeared to be armed with a cannon. A patrol ship warned the vessels not to approach Japan’s territorial waters.