Japan Destroyer Crosses Taiwan Strait for the First Time, Reports Say

Japan’s Self Defense Force (SDF) conducted patrols in the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday for the first time, an action intended to convey a message to China, as reported by the Yomiuri newspaper citing multiple government sources.

The SDF destroyer Sazanami entered the waters of the Taiwan Strait from the East China Sea on Wednesday morning, spending over 10 hours sailing south to complete its passage. This operation was coordinated with naval forces from Australia and New Zealand, who were set to participate in joint exercises in the South China Sea starting Thursday.

Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary, refrained from commenting on the specifics of the report but expressed concern regarding the rising military activities of China in the region. He stated, “We have a strong sense of crisis that airspace violations have occurred one after another over a short period of time,” and noted that Japan will continue to closely monitor the situation.

In response to the heightened military presence from China, Japan has been enhancing its defense capabilities aimed at deterring Beijing from employing military force to assert its territorial claims.

The report indicated that until now, Japan’s Self Defense Forces had avoided navigating through the Taiwan Strait to prevent tensions with Beijing, which asserts that it has sole sovereignty over the strait. China views Taiwan, a democratically governed entity, as part of its territory.

Navies from the United States and other countries regularly transit the Taiwan Strait to assert their right to “freedom of navigation.” Recently, the German navy also made its transit through the strait for the first time in two decades, reinforcing its commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with Western allies.

The Taiwan Strait is a critical maritime route, with around half of global container ships passing through it. Meanwhile, on the same day, China announced the successful test of an intercontinental ballistic missile launched into the Pacific Ocean. This comes as leaders of the Quad alliance—comprising Australia, India, Japan, and the United States—expanded their joint security measures in response to shared concerns regarding China’s activities in regional waters.