Provocations against China involving U.S. allies are ramping up. Since yesterday, warships from Japan, Australia, and New Zealand have all sailed through the Taiwan strait. The Australian and New Zealand ships went through together, according to a statement from New Zealand Defence Minister Judith Collins on Sept. 26, reported Reuters.
The Japanese SDF destroyer Sazanami entered the waters from the East China Sea yesterday morning, spending more than 10 hours sailing southward to complete the passage, Reuters reported separately, citing the Japan’s daily Yomiuri Shimbun. The passage was conducted in concert with the naval ships from Australia and New Zealand, the paper said, adding that the three nations’ navies were scheduled to hold joint exercises in the South China Sea starting today.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi declined to comment on the report, while reportedly expressing 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.”
Beijing delivered what the Japan Times characterized as a “strongly worded warning” to Tokyo after the passage of the Sazanami. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian had told reporters this morning: “The Taiwan question concerns China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Chinese military has handled in accordance with laws and regulations the entering into the Taiwan Strait of a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force vessel. China is highly vigilant on Japan’s political intention behind this move and has protested to the Japanese side.”
Lin also noted that Japan had made a clear commitment on that in the 1972 China-Japan Joint Statement which says, according to Lin: “The government of Japan recognizes the government of the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal government of China. The government of the People’s Republic of China reiterates that Taiwan is an inalienable part of the territory of the People’s Republic of China.”
“We urge Japan to honor its commitment and act prudently on the Taiwan question, and refrain from causing disruption to its relations with China and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” Lin concluded.
