Chinese President Xi Jinping has instructed the coast guard to strengthen its activity to assert sovereignty over the East China islets controlled by Tokyo, but claimed also by Beijing, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported on Saturday.

In response to the instruction issued in November, the coast guard drew up a plan to send its ships near the islets, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, every day in 2024, and to conduct on-site inspections of Japanese fishing vessels if necessary, Kyodo said, citing unnamed sources.