Japan Sends Warship Through Taiwan Strait for the First Time, Defying China’s Claims

In a historic naval maneuver, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s destroyer Sazanami traversed the Taiwan Strait on Thursday.

This marked the first instance of such a passage, with Japanese media outlets like NHK and Yomiuri Shimbun reporting that the journey commenced from the East China Sea, lasted ten hours, and concluded the same evening.

Regarding this operation, Yomiuri reported that it was a response (from the Japanese government) to last month’s incursion of a Chinese reconnaissance aircraft into Japanese airspace, which Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reviewed and ordered the dispatch of the destroyer.

Last month, a Chinese military Y-9 reconnaissance aircraft violated Japanese airspace near the Danjo Islands in Nagasaki Prefecture, located in the southwestern part of the Japanese archipelago. Following this, on September 18, a Chinese Type 001 aircraft carrier, Liaoning, navigated through Japan’s contiguous zone between Yonaguni Island and Iriomote Island in Okinawa Prefecture. This strategic move by Japan was underscored by the ongoing tensions between China and Western nations over the region.

NHK highlighted a statement from a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force official emphasizing that the Sazanami’s voyage through the Taiwan Strait was a demonstration of the right to freedom of navigation in international waters. On the same day, naval vessels from Australia and New Zealand also navigated through the strait, indicating a collective assertion of maritime rights.

Historically, China has strongly opposed Western naval vessels, including those from the U.S. and Canada, to pass through the Taiwan Strait. On September 14, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army issued a statement criticizing the actions of a German warship that transited the strait the day before, saying that Germany’s actions increased security risks and sent the wrong signals.

Despite China’s assertion of territorial rights over the Taiwan Strait under its “One China” principle, the international community, including the United States, maintains that these waters are international. While acknowledging this international stance, Japan has traditionally avoided deploying its Maritime Self-Defense Force in the strait, wary of antagonizing China. This recent passage by the Sazanami signifies a significant shift in Japan’s maritime strategy, reflecting broader geopolitical dynamics in the region.