Japan: Seven Chinese navy warships spotted

TOKYO, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- The Japanese Defense Ministry Tuesday said seven Chinese warships were spotted about 30 miles off Yonaguni Island in Okinawa prefecture.

Japan and China are currently involved in an escalating territorial dispute over a group of islands in the East China Sea, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

The Japanese Defense Ministry said the Chinese ships passed the contiguous zone outside Japan's territorial waters around the Okinawa Island, Kyodo News reported.

There was no immediate report from the Chinese media about its ships.