China has dispatched a three-thousand-ton patrol boat to an area in the East China Sea that is at the center of a territorial dispute between China and Japan.

Chinese media said Wednesday that the areas surrounding islands in the East China Sea called “Diaoyu” in Chinese and “Senkaku” in Japanese are part of regions where China conducts patrols.

The media also said the same Chinese patrol boat is scheduled to conduct patrol activities in areas near South Korea’s Ieodo, an underwater reef, which is located about 150 kilometers south of Jeju Island.

The boat is equipped with cutting-edge oceanographic observation devices and a helicopter of the latest model.

Concerns are rising that if a Chinese patrol appears near Ieodo, it could lead to another dispute between South Korea and China following a recent incident where a Chinese fisherman stabbed a South Korean commando to death during a crackdown on illegal fishing.