(Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered his defense minister on Tuesday to strengthen surveillance around islands at the heart of a territorial feud with China, Kyodo news agency reported.
Deputy Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki summoned the Chinese ambassador earlier in the day to protest against an "incursion" by four Chinese maritime surveillance ships near the islands, officials said.
"I want you to respond firmly," Kyodo quoted Abe as telling Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera.
The ships entered the area around noon on Monday and left in the early hours of Tuesday, the officials said.
China's State Oceanic Administration confirmed four Chinese marine surveillance ships were patrolling waters near the islands.
But China routinely maintains such ships are in Chinese waters and a Chinese official accused Japan of intrusion.
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