Kazushi Kinjo, a fisherman from the Japanese island of Yonaguni, departs port most days to catch deep sea red snapper in waters to the north.

Fish abound there, and Chinese Coast Guard ships are becoming more common.
Chinese ships monitor the seas near Kinjo’s home, the Japanese-controlled Senkaku islands, an uninhabited island series claimed by both China and Taiwan. The islands, known in China as the Diaoyu Islands and in Taiwan as Diaoyutai, have been a flashpoint for rising tensions in the area.

Despite the fact that the rocky chain has been a source of contention for more than a century, China has extended its presence in the area, particularly in recent decades. This has sparked worries that Beijing would assert its claim to the disputed islands.
The Chinese Coast Guard patrols throughout the waters around the islands, according to China’s Foreign Ministry, are “an acceptable exercise of China’s sovereign sovereignty.” However, Japan claims sovereignty over the islands, and it is beefing up military forces on Yonaguni and its sister islands in the Nansei group, east of the Senkakus.

All of this worries Yonaguni locals like Kinjo, who are concerned about China’s ambitions.
Their island is just 68 miles (110 kilometres) off the coast of Taiwan, a self-ruled, democratic island that Beijing also claims as its own, and they are concerned that rising tensions will destabilise their peaceful community, particularly if Beijing attempts to restrict access to the fishing grounds that are vital to their livelihoods.