Japan sends warship into Taiwan Strait for first time

Japan dispatched a battleship to the sensitive Taiwan Strait for the first time on Wednesday to convey a message to China, Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper said in a report citing multiple government officials.

The move by Japan, to assert its freedom of navigation, came on the same day China said it had successfully test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean.

Japan's Self Defense Force's warship Sazanami began sailing from the East China Sea on Wednesday morning and spent more than 10 hours to complete the passage, the Japanese newspaper reported on Thursday.

The passage was conducted jointly with naval ships from Australia and New Zealand, according to the report.

Last week, for the first time, China's Liaoning aircraft carrier sailed between two Japanese islands near Taiwan. It was accompanied by two destroyers.

The newspaper cited anonymous government sources saying Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ordered the passage of the warship into the Taiwan Strait. They reportedly said he felt that taking no action after China's intrusion into Japanese territory could encourage Beijing to be more assertive.

However, Japan's Defense Ministry did not immediately confirm the warship's passage.

China's growing desire for dominance in the region

China has repeatedly maintained that it will bring Taiwan under its control, with Chinese leader Xi Jinping voicing growing rhetoric about "unification" being "inevitable."

Beijing, which sees Taiwan as part of its territory, also claims jurisdiction over the waters that separate the island from China.

However, according to the US and many other countries, such patrolling exercises in the Taiwan Strait are usual, citing freedom of navigation.

Earlier this month, when Germany sent two of its warships through the Taiwan Strait, Beijing warned Berlin and accused it of risking security in the region.

mfi/rc (AFP, Reuters)