Japan's forces on Friday detected a foreign submarine navigating in the contiguous zone, just outside the country's territorial waters east of Amami-Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, a media report said.
The submarine was underwater and heading northwest. Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force's (SDF) destroyer and patrol aircraft followed the submarine and by Sunday morning, it had left the contiguous zone without entering Japan's territorial waters. Later, the submarine was navigating west in the East China Sea, Japan's NHK World reported on Sunday.
Officials believe that the submarine belonged to the Chinese Navy as Beijing's destroyer was navigating near it.
In June last year, a submarine that was believed to be Chinese was navigating near the same island. After that incident, it was the first time that Japanese forces detected a foreign submarine in the contiguous zone, according to NHK World.
Under international law, submarines have to ascend and display their national flags, while navigating within the territorial waters of another country. But there's no such rule for contiguous zones. Japanese officials have said that they are analysing the objective of submarines navigation.
( With inputs from ANI )
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