BEIJING (Reuters) -A China Coast Guard ship formation passed through the waters of the Senkaku Islands on Sunday on a "rights enforcement patrol", the China Coast Guard said in a statement, as Beijing ramps up tensions with Japan over its prime minister's remarks on Taiwan.

Both countries have summoned each other’s ambassadors after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said a Chinese attack on Taiwan could draw a military response from Tokyo.

PM Sanae Takaichi broke years of precedent by hinting that Japan could provide military support for Taiwan under certain “worst-case” scenarios such as a Chinese attack.

Ships sail near the Senkaku or Diaoyu chain as officials warn there is no straightforward way to ease tensions

A Chinese diplomat’s call to cut off the prime minister’s “filthy head” signaled a revival of a combative style Beijing had tried to dial back.

Chinese Type 055 destroyer among vessels to transit Osumi Strait on Tuesday, days after Beijing criticised PM: Japanese defence ministry.

An offhand remark from the prime minister of Japan has roiled Beijing, unleashing an onslaught of accusations and even threats of decapitation from Chinese officials. The Chinese Communist Party is demanding that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi retract an assertion she made last week,

Heavyweights clash as election of hawkish PM Sanae Takaichi and US policy unpredictability change calculus in region