BEIJING, April 17 (Reuters) – China said it monitored a Japanese warship’s transit in the Taiwan Strait on Friday, calling the move “a deliberate provocation” as Beijing’s ties with Tokyo remain fraught.
Japanese destroyer JS Ikazuchi transited the Taiwan Strait from 4:02 a.m. (2002 GMT) to 5:50 p.m. (0950 GMT), and the Chinese military’s naval and air forces tracked and monitored the vessel throughout the process, a Chinese military spokesperson said in a statement.
Japan’s Self-Defense Forces declined to comment on a report about the sail.
China views democratically-governed Taiwan as its territory despite Taipei’s rejection of the claim, and frequently refers to the issue as a “red line” in its diplomatic relations with other countries. It also claims sovereignty over the strategic Taiwan Strait and has responded aggressively on occasion to foreign navies sailing there.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in November angered Beijing with her remarks that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Japan. Bilateral ties have since deteriorated.
Takaichi’s “wrong remarks” regarding Taiwan have already severely impacted bilateral relations, Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, said at a press briefing on Friday.
Japan’s dispatch of a military vessel into the Taiwan Strait, as “a display of force” and “a deliberate provocation”, marks a “mistake upon mistake” and threatens China’s sovereignty and security, Guo said.
China firmly opposes this and has lodged a strong protest to Japan, he said.
The Chinese navy tracked and monitored the transit of an Australian warship through the Taiwan Strait in February, state-backed Chinese media had reported.
(Reporting by Liz Lee; Additional reporting by Nobuhiro Kubo in Tokyo; Writing by Yukun Zhang; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
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