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Japan has sent a warship through the Taiwan Strait for the first time in its history in an attempt to send a message to China, media reports said.
Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force warship Sazanami made the passage through the strait from the East China Sea on Wednesday morning, the Yomiuri newspaper reported citing multiple government sources, as Tokyo stepped up deterrence against Beijing’s territorial claims.
The SDF destroyer spent more than 10 hours sailing southward to complete the passage along with naval ships from Australia and New Zealand. The three countries’ navies were on their way to participate in planned multilateral drills in the disputed South China Sea beginning Thursday.
Japanese chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi declined to comment on the transit but expressed concern about China’s increased military activity in the region.
“We have a strong sense of crisis that airspace violations have occurred one after another over a short period of time,” he told a regular press conference. “We will continue to monitor the situation with strong interest.”
China is expected to respond to it in the regular press briefing on Thursday.
The Global Times, a state media outlet, said: “The PLA followed and monitored them throughout the process and the situation was under control.”
China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its territory, has in the past reacted sharply to similar transits through these waters, perceiving them as challenges to its sovereignty.
This latest passage is expected to further inflame tensions with Beijing, especially in light of recent territorial disputes between China and Tokyo.
Last week, Japan lodged a protest with China over a new route taken by the People Liberation Army Navy’s aircraft carrier Liaoning and two destroyers on their way to the Pacific Ocean. It said a Chinese aircraft carrier entered the waters for the first time, sailing between Japan’s westernmost island of Yonaguni and nearby Iriomote.
Tensions also ratcheted up last month after Chinese military aircraft entered its airspace for the first time, the Japanese defence ministry said.
Recently, Germany also became one of the latest countries to sail through the Taiwan Strait for the first time in 22 years. The transit on 13 September irked Beijing which accused Berlin of increasing security risks but it said it operated in accordance with international standards.
The US Navy and its allies such as the UK and Australia regularly transit through the strait to reinforce “freedom of navigation”.
Also, the leaders of the “Quad” grouping of Australia, India, Japan and the US last week expanded joint security steps in Asia’s waters due to shared concerns about China