China Military Bugle, an official media account under the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) News Media Center, posted a video on social media on Saturday, showing drone-captured footage of how the PLA Eastern Theater Command (ETC) deployed naval and air forces to monitor the movement of a Japanese destroyer transiting the Taiwan Straits a day prior.

On Friday, the Japanese destroyer JS Ikazuchi transited the Taiwan Straits, leading to denouncement and opposition from Chinese authorities.

According to Senior Colonel Xu Chenghua, spokesperson of the PLA Eastern Theater Command, the transition of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (SDF) vessel, which took place from 4:02 to 17:50 on Friday, sent wrong signals to “Taiwan independence” separatist forces. “The PLA ETC deployed naval and air assets to track and monitor the vessel throughout the process, ensuring an effective control of the situation,” he said.

Forces of the ETC will remain on high alert at all times, and resolutely safeguard China’s sovereignty and security, as well as regional peace and stability, Xu added.

On the same day, during a Foreign Ministry regular press conference, spokesperson Guo Jiakun criticized the Japanese side for “compounding the wrongdoing by sending the Self-Defense Force vessel into the Taiwan Straits to flex its muscles and deliberately provoke China.”

It exposes the dangerous attempts of certain people in Japan to conduct armed intervention and undermine the peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits, according to the spokesperson. “This action severely undermines the political foundation of China-Japan relations and threatens China’s sovereignty and security. China firmly opposes it and has lodged strong protest against Japan.”

The Chinese military has handled the entry of the Japanese SDF vessel in accordance with laws and regulations, Guo added.

According to Chinese media outlet China News, the day Japan chose to make such a move in the Taiwan Straits is the anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki. The signing of this unequal treaty led to Japan's colonization of the Taiwan island for 50 years. 

This demonstrates that Japan’s move was by no means a routine passage, but rather a blatant and deliberate provocation, commented the Chinese media. In light of this, it is evident that Japanese politicians carefully chose a highly symbolic moment in an attempt to send the wrong signal to “Taiwan independence” separatist forces, while simultaneously testing China’s bottom line and reaction, China News reported.

Global Times