A Chinese aircraft carrier entered Japan’s contiguous waters for the first time on Wednesday, according to Japan’s defense ministry, further escalating tensions between the two nations. The carrier, accompanied by two destroyers, sailed between Japan’s Yonaguni and Iriomote islands, entering an area where Japan has limited control under UN regulations. Japan’s Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroshi Moriya expressed “serious concerns” to Beijing, calling the move “utterly unacceptable” for Japan’s and the region’s security. This increase in Chinese naval activity has raised significant concerns in Tokyo and across the region.
Taiwan’s defense ministry also reported that the same Chinese carrier group was seen earlier that day off its east coast, heading toward Yonaguni, about 110 km from Taiwan. China, which claims Taiwan as its territory, has been conducting regular military exercises around the island for five years, pressuring Taipei to accept its sovereignty. The carrier group, led by Liaoning, China’s oldest aircraft carrier, was monitored by Taiwan’s forces. China’s defense ministry did not respond to calls for comment.
Japan has been on high alert over repeated Chinese incursions. On August 31, Japan lodged a protest after a Chinese naval survey vessel entered Japanese waters off Kagoshima Prefecture. This incident, which occurred just days after an airspace violation by a Chinese military plane on August 28, marked the tenth such naval incursion in the past year. Japan condemned both incidents, emphasizing their impact on national security, as the frequency of Chinese naval activity continues to grow.
In an earlier incident, on July 4, a Japanese destroyer, Suzutsuki, entered Chinese territorial waters near Taiwan without prior notification while monitoring Chinese missile drills in the East China Sea. The vessel sailed within 12 nautical miles of Zhejiang Province for about 20 minutes, despite warnings from Chinese vessels. Beijing lodged an official complaint, while Japan’s defense ministry launched an investigation, suggesting the entry could have been a technical error. This incident followed a series of similar tensions, including a Chinese naval incursion into Japanese waters in June 2022.
Japan has responded to the rising frequency of Chinese naval activity near its territory by strengthening its defenses, aiming to deter Beijing from using military force to assert its territorial claims in the region.
