Japan flexes in Taiwan Strait, sending warship through disputed waters

(TOKYO) — The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Sazanami passed through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, marking the first time a modern Japanese warship has navigated this strategically sensitive waterway.

The Japanese destroyer was en-route to multinational naval drills. Australian and New Zealand vessels are also reported to have transited the strait.

China has consistently opposed foreign naval vessels transiting the strait, which it considers part of its territorial waters.

Japan’s move aligns with the stance of the U.S. and other allies, asserting that the strip constitutes international waters where freedom of navigation must be upheld. Recent transits by warships from Britain, Canada, France, Australia and Germany have also reinforced this principle.

The Japanese ship’s movements come as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is on his way out of office this month.

China often tests Japan’s response to their air and naval movements but they’ve been upping ante as of late. A People’s Liberation Army Navy aircraft carrier recently maneuvered between two of Japan’s southern islands. And the Chinese military tested on Wednesday its first ICBM in decades, a launch about which Japan hadn’t received prior notification.

The decision to send the Sazanami through the strait is significant given Japan’s decades of post-war pacifism. The government has tread lightly on all things military, to avoid stirring unrest at home. This bold move by Japan would’ve been hard to imagine a decade ago, but as the China’s assertiveness grows, so has Japan’s effort to beef up its national defense. It also appears to signal that Japan will stand with allies, as well as support Taiwan.

Japan’s government and Ministry of Defense have not yet made public statements about the move.

The ship’s movements come as the U.N. General Assembly meets in New York, where U.S. President Joe Biden spoke on Tuesday of his efforts to build a strong trilateral relationship with Japan and South Korea. Those relationships have been part of Biden’s strategy to counter China’s influence in the region.

“These partnerships are not against any nation,” Biden said on Tuesday. “They’re building blocks for a free, open, secure, peaceful Indo-Pacific.”