A Japanese warship cruised through the Taiwan Strait for the first time to assert its freedom of navigation, local media said Thursday, a week after a Chinese aircraft carrier sailed between two Japanese islands near Taiwan. Japan's top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi declined to comment on the reports at a regular briefing because they concern military operations. The United States and its allies are increasingly crossing the 180-kilometre (112-mile) Taiwan Strait to reinforce its status as an international waterway, angering China.
Several Japanese media outlets said the Sazanami destroyer made the unprecedented passage on Wednesday at the same time as military vessels from Australia and New Zealand. The three nations planned to conduct military drills in the contested South China Sea, the reports said. Separately on Thursday, Taiwan's defence ministry said 43 Chinese military aircraft and eight naval vessels were detected around the democratic island within a 24-hour period.
Last week, China's Liaoning aircraft carrier sailed between two Japanese islands near Taiwan for the first time, accompanied by two destroyers. The ships entered Japan's contiguous zone -- an area up to 24 nautical miles from the country's coast -- Tokyo said, calling the incident "totally unacceptable". China said it had complied with international law.
It followed the first confirmed incursion into Japanese airspace by a Chinese surveillance aircraft in August. The Yomiuri Shimbun daily cited .
