China protests after Japanese warship enters Taiwan Strait

China on Friday said it has lodged a protest with Tokyo after a Japanese military vessel entered the Taiwan Strait.

“The entry of a Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel into the Taiwan Strait severely threatens China’s sovereignty and security, and China firmly opposes it and has lodged a strong protest with Japan,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

He added that Chinese military forces “handled the entry in accordance with laws and regulations.”

Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force escort ship reportedly sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Friday, according to Japan-based Kyodo News Agency, which cited unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

There has been no official statement from the Japanese government regarding the latest developments in the Taiwan Strait.

Guo said the presence of a Japanese vessel in the Taiwan Strait “once again exposes the dangerous attempt of certain individuals in Japan to militarily interfere in the Taiwan Strait and undermine peace and stability across the Strait,” warning that such actions “severely damage the political foundation of China-Japan relations.”

Relations between China and Japan have deteriorated since last November, when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stated that any Chinese military action against Taiwan—including a naval blockade—could be classified as a “survival-threatening situation,” which would allow Japan to exercise its right to collective self-defense.

“China once again urges the Japanese side to earnestly reflect on its mistakes, pull back from the brink, exercise prudence in its words and actions, and refrain from going further down the wrong path,” Guo added.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev