Foreign Submarine Sails Underwater in Japan Contiguous Zone

Tokyo, May 19 (Jiji Press)--A foreign submarine was found traveling underwater in the contiguous zone just outside Japan's territorial waters around the Minami-Daito island in the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa early Sunday morning, the Japanese Defense Ministry said. The submarine did not intrude into the Japanese waters, according to the ministry. The submarine may be from China's navy and may have demonstrated the navy's presence for its advance to the western Pacific, informed sources said. The ministry has mostly identified the nationality of the submarine, officials said. But they declined to disclose the information. According to the ministry, a P-3C patrol plane of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force spotted the submarine traveling underwater to the northeast in the contiguous zone south of the Minami-Daito island early Sunday morning. As of Sunday evening, the submarine was sailing below the sea surface outside the contiguous zone southeast of the island, according to the ministry. The incident came after what appeared to be a Chinese navy submarine sailed underwater in the contiguous zone around the Amami-Oshima island in Kagoshima Prefecture, southern Japan, on May 2 and another, also believed to be from the Chinese navy, did the same in the contiguous zone around Kumejima, an island in Okinawa, on May 12. In response to Sunday's incident, Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera and other senior officials of the Defense Ministry held discussions. The ministry said that it decided to announce the discovery of the submarine because the interval between the latest and previous incidents was short and this is not usual. Under international law, submarines must sail on the surface and show their national flags when passing through territorial waters of other countries. It is understood that there is no problem with submarines traveling below the surface in contiguous waters. END