Tokyo, Japan (CNN) -- Japan on Monday said it would demand compensation for damage done to coast guard ships by a Chinese fishing captain, lobbing a diplomatic ball back at China.
The face-off between Beijing and Tokyo stems from Japan's arrest of the captain in early September off the disputed Diaoyu Islands, in the East China Sea.
"Naturally speaking, we are to ask for the repair cost for the damage" to a coast guard boat, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku said at regular news conference Monday. "Now the ball is on the side of China in terms of firming up the mutually beneficial and strategic relationship".
Tokyo has already rejected Beijing's demand for an apology and compensation over the arrest.
Captain Zhan Qixiong was accused of hitting two Japanese coast guard ships, and obstructing public officers while they performed their duties. Japan freed him last week, citing the relationship between the two countries. China is Japan's largest trading partner.
The release of the captain was widely seen as a diplomatic retreat by Tokyo, in response to Beijing's ire.
CNN
