A Japanese warship has passed through the Taiwan Strait between Taiwan and China for the first time, according to Japanese media reports.
The JS Sazanami, a naval destroyer, passed through the strait from north to south on Wednesday, accompanied by ships from Australia and New Zealand.
The ship was en route to participate in military exercises in the South China Sea, Japanese ministers said.
This would be a significant move by Japan, which has avoided sending its ships through the strait so as not to upset China, which claims autonomy for Taiwan and the strait.
Neither Japan, Taiwan nor China have officially commented on the move.
Chinese state-run newspaper Global Times, citing an unnamed source, said the Chinese military “carried out tracking and monitoring throughout the (ships’) route and had the situation under control.”
Patrols by the United States and its allies have intensified to assert their freedom of navigation in the 180 km (112 miles) long Taiwan Strait.
Both the United States and Taiwan say it is a key shipping and trade route, carrying about half of the world’s container fleet, and is part of international waters and open to all warships.
Beijing, which claims sovereignty and jurisdiction over the strait, disagrees.
For decades, the U.S. Pacific Fleet was the only foreign navy to regularly transit the strait. But recently it has been joined by Canada, Australia, Britain and France. Two weeks ago, Germany sailed two warships through the strait for the first time in decades.
The Chinese military accused Germany of increasing security risks by crossing the strait on September 13, but Berlin insisted it acted in accordance with international standards. It was the first time in 22 years that a German warship had passed through the strait.
These transits are highly political and aimed at showing China that America and its allies do not accept Beijing’s demands.
For Japan, it is also a major step away from its long-standing policy of not directly challenging China.
Japan’s chief cabinet secretary on Thursday did not confirm details of the naval operation, but he said Japan felt a strong sense of crisis after the Chinese military’s repeated airspace violations, which he said occurred one after another over a short period of time.
Taiwan has not commented on the move, but its defense ministry said Wednesday it had seen an increase in the number of Chinese military aircraft operating around the island.
Bec Strating, professor of international relations at La Trobe University in Australia, said Japan’s announced transit “is part of a broader pattern of increased naval presence by countries in Asia and beyond that are concerned about China’s maritime assertions.”
“Japan in particular is facing China’s ‘grey zone’ tactics in the East China Sea,” she told AFP news agency.
Gray-zone warfare tactics aim to weaken an adversary over an extended period, analysts say.
Last week, Beijing sent an aircraft carrier between two Japanese islands near Taiwan for the first time. In August, an aircraft carrier Chinese spy plane flew over Japanese airspaceprompting Tokyo to condemn the incursion as “totally unacceptable” and a “serious violation of sovereignty.”
Leaders of the Quad grouping – Japan, Australia, India and the United States – said last week they would expand maritime security cooperation to counter China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea.
