TOKYO -- Aboard a Japanese survey vessel earlier this year, Tomomi Inada was roused from her berth in a commotion at 4 a.m. and told to look out of a porthole. The veteran Japanese ruling-party lawmaker was shocked to see the lights of a Chinese coast guard ship bearing down on her craft.
As China steps up coast guard patrols in the South and East China seas, Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines are wrestling with how to defend their territory and national interests -- without provoking a war. © Illustration by Yoshiko Kawano
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