Japan Protests Chinese Destroyer Live-Fire Drills in EEZ Near Okinotori Island

TOKYO — The Japanese government lodged a formal protest Tuesday after a Chinese guided-missile destroyer conducted live-fire exercises Sunday within Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the remote southern island of Okinotori, officials confirmed.

The Luyang III-class destroyer carried out the drills approximately 180 kilometers (110 miles) southwest of the uninhabited atoll while operating alongside two other Chinese warships and a Russian frigate, according to the Japanese Joint Staff. The fleet was conducting joint maneuvers with Moscow at the time.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters that Tokyo conveyed “serious concerns” to Beijing, warning that the live-fire activity posed a potential safety hazard to vessels transiting the area. He noted that nearby ships received notification from the Chinese warships only moments before the firing commenced.

“We will continue to monitor China-Russia operations around Japan with deep concern, while maintaining maximum vigilance over our airspace and territorial waters,” Kihara stated.

The incident follows a pattern of expanding military cooperation between Beijing and Moscow that has increasingly unsettled Tokyo. Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, speaking in Britain on Monday, cited the drills as further evidence of deepening Sino-Russian military coordination. He also referenced China’s submarine-launched ballistic missile test earlier this month and at least ten joint bomber patrols around Japan conducted by the two nations.

Japanese alarm has grown since late last year, when two Chinese aircraft carriers were detected operating simultaneously near Iwo Jima for the first time, signaling Beijing’s ability to project power far beyond its coastal waters.

While the drills occurred within Japan’s EEZ — an area where Tokyo holds resource rights but not full sovereignty — they did not violate international law, the Joint Staff acknowledged. It marked the first time Japan has publicly disclosed the detection of Chinese live-fire exercises inside its EEZ.

Beijing previously announced the conclusion of its joint naval exercises with Russia on July 13, stating that participating vessels were conducting patrols in the Pacific. China’s Defense Ministry spokesperson, Jiang Bin, defended the cooperation as vital to “safeguarding the two nations’ sovereignty and security and upholding international and regional peace and stability.” He urged “relevant parties” to view the partnership objectively and cease “groundless speculation.”

China also contests Japan’s EEZ claim around Okinotori, arguing the feature is an atoll rather than an island entitled to such a zone under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The Joint Staff added that the same four-ship formation had earlier transited southward between Okinawa and Miyako islands, underscoring the fleet’s freedom of movement through strategically vital straits.

Source link