Japan’s officials have expressed concern over a Chinese navy destroyer’s live-fire drills conducted off a remote Japanese island in the Pacific Ocean on Sunday. The incident occurred during a joint exercise with Russia, and the Japanese Joint Staff has disclosed the detection of Chinese live-fire drills in the Japanese Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) for the first time.
The Chinese Luyang III-class guided-missile destroyer conducted a live-fire exercise off Japan’s southernmost island of Okinotori, which is an uninhabited atoll located in the Philippine Sea. According to the Japanese Joint Staff, the Chinese warship was operating alongside two other Chinese warships and a Russian frigate when it conducted the live-fire drills.
The exercise was held 180 kilometers southwest of the island, which falls within Japan’s EEZ. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara has stated that the government conveyed concerns over the potential safety threat posed by the live-fire drills to nearby vessels. The Japanese navy had spotted the Chinese warships operating in the area hours before the drills began.
Japan’s Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi has also expressed concern over the deepening military cooperation between China and Russia. He noted that China’s ballistic missile launch from a submarine earlier this month and at least 10 joint flights conducted by Chinese and Russian bombers around Japan underscore the increasing military cooperation between the two nations.
Japan has been alarmed by China’s rapid expansion of operations in the Pacific, particularly since two Chinese aircraft carriers were spotted last year operating near another southern Japanese island, Iwo Jima. This incident has fueled Tokyo’s concern about Beijing’s military activity far beyond its borders.
Japan is also deeply concerned about the growing joint military operations by China and Russia around Japan in recent years. The live-fire drills by the Chinese destroyer were conducted within Japan’s EEZ, which is an area beyond its immediate territorial waters where the country has rights over natural resources.
The Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson, Jiang Bin, has stated that China-Russia military cooperation plays an important role in safeguarding the two nations’ sovereignty and security and upholding international and regional peace and stability. He added that the relevant parties should view China-Russia military cooperation objectively and rationally, and stop making groundless speculation and cease smearing and hyping.
China also disputes Japan’s claim of an EEZ around the Okinotori island, saying it’s an atoll not an island. The Japanese Joint Staff has stated that the fleet of the same four Chinese and Russian warships had earlier sailed southward between the main Japanese islands of Okinawa and Miyako.
Japan’s Joint Staff has emphasized that the action did not violate international law. The incident has raised concerns about the increasing military cooperation between China and Russia, and the potential safety threats it poses to nearby vessels.
