By DAISUKE YAJIMA/ Staff Writer
September 26, 2024 at 15:21 JST
The Maritime SDF’s destroyer Sazanami (Provided by Defense Ministry)
The Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Sazanami passed through the Taiwan Strait in waters between China and Taiwan on Sept. 25, sources related to the government said.
This marked the first time for a Maritime SDF destroyer to sail through the strait at a time that China has been ramping up its military activities around Japanese territory, including violating Japan’s airspace.
The destroyer's dispatch is believed to be in response to China's provocations.
Several sources related to the government said the Sazanami sailed southward from the East China Sea, passed through the Taiwan Strait and moved out to the South China Sea.
Australian and New Zealand naval battleships also passed through the strait. The MSDF and navies of Australia and New Zealand are scheduled to hold an upcoming exercise in the South China Sea.
Western nations consider the Taiwan Strait to be an international waterway that can be freely navigated, asserting the right to freedom of navigation and frequently sailing naval vessels through it.
However, since China claims it has jurisdiction over the strait, the MSDF hasn’t sent warships to navigate through the waters.
Meanwhile, around Japanese territory, the Chinese military has increased its activities since August.
A Chinese reconnaissance plane entered Japanese airspace off the coast of Nagasaki for the first time on Aug. 26.
On Aug. 31, a Chinese survey vessel sailed into Japanese waters off the coast of Kagoshima Prefecture.
On Sept. 18, the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning entered Japan’s contiguous waters when it passed between Yonaguni island and Iriomotejima island in Okinawa Prefecture.
That marked the first such passage for a Chinese aircraft carrier through such Japanese-controlled waters.
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