Hong Kong-based Action committee for Defending the Diaoyu Islands said on Wednesday afternoon that a fish boat carrying eight activists had run aground on the Diaoyu Islands and several of them had landed ashore.

The vessel, the Kai Fung Two which left Hong Kong for the Diaoyu Islands days ago, began to sail in full charge towards the Diaoyu Islands on Wednesday afternoon, despite obstruction from Japanese guard ships.

Chinese activists had frequently informed their base in Hong Kong by satellite phone that their ship had been rammed by Japanese ships and sprayed by water cannon. According to the action committee, none of the people on board Kai Fung Two were injured.

Japan arrested five Chinese activists from Hong Kong who landed on the Diaoyu Islands at around 5:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday, according to police from Japan's Okinawa. Two other activists who also landed on the islands returned to the fishing vessel, said the police.

China has asked Japan to refrain from taking any action that could endanger the safety of the lives and property of Chinese citizens going to the Diaoyu Islands, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Wednesday.

"China is paying close attention to the developments of relevant issues, and it has expressed its serious concerns over the issues to the Japanese side," Qin said in a statement issued in response to a media request to comment on the report. He said China's position on the Diaoyu Islands issue remains "clear and resolute."

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