Japan sends a warship through the Taiwan Strait for the first time
Kyiv • UNN
The Japanese warship JS Sazanami has sailed through the Taiwan Strait between Taiwan and China for the first time. This is a significant step by Japan, which had previously avoided such actions in order not to irritate China.
A Japanese warship has sailed through the Taiwan Strait between Taiwan and China for the first time, according to Japanese media reports, UNN writes citing the BBC.
Details
The destroyer JS Sazanami passed through the strait from north to south on Wednesday, accompanied by ships from Australia and New Zealand.
According to Japanese ministers, the ship was on its way to participate in military exercises in the South China Sea.
This would be a significant move by Japan, which is believed to have avoided sending its ships through the strait so as not to upset China, which claims a self-governing Taiwan and the strait.
Neither Japan, nor Taiwan, nor China officially commented on the passage.
China's state-run Global Times newspaper, citing an unnamed source, reported that the Chinese military "tracked and monitored the entire [vessels'] journey and kept the situation under control.
The United States and its allies have increased patrols to assert their freedom of navigation in the 180-kilometer-long Taiwan Strait.
The United States and Taiwan claim that it is a key shipping and trade route for about half of the world's container fleet, and that it is part of international waters and open to all military vessels.
Beijing, which claims sovereignty and jurisdiction over the strait, disagrees.
For decades, the U.S. Pacific Fleet was the only foreign fleet to regularly sail through the strait. But recently, it has been joined by Canada and Australia, the United Kingdom and France. Two weeks ago, Germany sent two warships through the strait for the first time in decades.
The Chinese military accused Germany of raising security risks by passing through the strait on September 13, but Berlin said it was acting in accordance with international standards. It was the first time in 22 years that a German warship had crossed the strait.
"These transits are purely political in nature and are intended to show China that America and its allies do not accept Beijing's claims," the publication explains.
For Japan, this is reportedly another major step away from its longstanding policy of not directly challenging China.
On Thursday, Japan's chief cabinet secretary did not confirm the details of the naval operation, but said Japan was experiencing a strong sense of crisis after repeated airspace violations by the Chinese military, which he said occurred one after another over a short period of time.
Taiwan did not comment on the passage, but its defense ministry said Wednesday that it had seen a surge in the number of Chinese military aircraft operating around the island.
Last week, Beijing sent an aircraft carrier between two Japanese islands off Taiwan for the first time. In August, a Chinese spy plane flew into Japanese airspace, prompting Tokyo to condemn the intrusion as "totally unacceptable" and a "serious violation of sovereignty.
The leaders of the Quartet countries - Japan, Australia, India and the United States - said last week that they would expand maritime security cooperation to counter China's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea.
