China Conducts Military Drills in Western Pacific

Beijing, April 23 (Jiji Press)–A flotilla of Chinese warships has conducted naval drills in the western Pacific, apparently in a move countering a Japanese destroyer’s recent passage through the Taiwan Strait. A spokesperson for the Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command, which is in charge of areas around Taiwan, said on social media Wednesday that the military exercises have ended, with the fleet returning home after sailing between Yonaguni and Iriomote islands in Japan’s southernmost Okinawa Prefecture. The Eastern Theater Command said Sunday that the flotilla headed for the western Pacific for exercises by navigating through waters between the islands of Amami Oshima and Yokoatejima in Japan’s Kagoshima Prefecture, north of Okinawa. The Joint Staff at Japan’s Defense Ministry also confirmed at the time that a missile destroyer and a frigate from the Chinese navy traveled for the Pacific by passing through the waters between the two Kagoshima islands. The Ikazuchi destroyer of Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Friday last week, en route to the Philippines to participate in the Balikatan multinational exercises. The administration of Chinese President Xi Jinping lodged a strong protest with the Japanese side over the destroyer’s passage through the strait. China regards Taiwan as a renegade province, considering the self-ruled island at the center of its core interests. The Balikatan exercises, which started Monday and will run until May 8, are organized jointly by the U.S. and Philippine militaries. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]