Japan SDF Ship Sails through Taiwan Strait: China

Beijing, April 17 (Jiji Press)–A spokesperson for the Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command, which is responsible for areas near Taiwan, said on social media Friday that a Japanese Self-Defense Force vessel had sailed through the Taiwan Strait. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun slammed the move as a serious threat to China’s sovereignty and security at a press conference the same day, and said China lodged a strong protest with Japan. Tokyo has not released any related information. If confirmed, the passage of an SDF ship would be the first since ties between the two countries soured following remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi last November about a possible Taiwan contingency. According to the Eastern Theater Command, the Maritime SDF’s destroyer Ikazuchi sailed through the strait between 4:02 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Friday China time. It said that it had mobilized naval and air troops to monitor the MSDF vessel, and criticized Japan for what it described as sending the wrong signal to Taiwanese independence forces. The incident exposes the dangerous attempts of some people in Japan to conduct armed intervention and undermine the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, Guo argued. The Taiwan issue is related to China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and the political foundation of China-Japan relations, and it is a red line that should never be crossed, Guo said. The United States and European countries consider the strait to be international waters and have sent their vessels through it under the banner of the freedom of navigation. Tokyo had avoided doing so in order not to excessively provoke China, until it sent the first SDF ship through the strait in September 2024. An SDF vessel sailed through the strait alone in February 2025. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]