Japan protests Chinese live-fire drill in nearby waters
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A file photo taken on June 3, 2023 shows a Chinese Luyang III class warship sailing as seen from the deck of a US destroyer in the Taiwan Strait.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Japan protested China’s live-fire drills within its exclusive economic zone near Okinotori Island, citing risks to navigation.
- China rejected Japan’s claim and called the protest "completely unreasonable," asserting its actions comply with international law.
- The drills involved Chinese and Russian vessels, highlighting rising military tensions and prompting Japan to boost surveillance and defence measures.
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TOKYO – Japan said on July 21 it had protested to China against live-fire drills in its exclusive economic zone, drawing an angry response from Beijing, which rejects Tokyo’s rights in the remote Pacific waters.
The incident could further fray relations between Asia’s top two economies, strained since comments in 2025 by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Taiwan, the democratic island claimed by China.
The drills, which also involved Russian vessels, were held some 180km south-west of what Tokyo calls Okinotori Island early on July 19, Japan’s military said in a statement.
China argues that Okinotori is a reef, rather than an island, and Japan is therefore not entitled to claim the waters surrounding it as part of its EEZ.
“The Japanese government lodged a protest with China through diplomatic channels, on the grounds that such activities could pose a danger to the navigation of nearby vessels,” Japan’s top government spokesperson Minoru Kihara told reporters on July 21.
In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian called Tokyo’s concerns “completely unreasonable”, adding that China firmly rejected them.
“China’s activities on the high seas are in line with international law and practices,” he told a daily press conference. “Japan is smearing and hyping up the legitimate actions of other countries.”
A spokesperson for Japan’s military said it was the first time Tokyo had publicly disclosed China’s live-fire drills in its EEZ, an area extending beyond territorial waters where countries claim rights to resources such as energy and fishing.
China and Russia have stepped up joint naval and air operations around Japan, prompting Tokyo to increase surveillance and strengthen its defences in the south-west island chain amid concerns over regional security.
Japanese forces said they spotted four vessels – a Chinese Renhai-class guided-missile destroyer, a Luyang III-class guided-missile destroyer, a Fuchi-class replenishment ship and a Russian Steregushchiy-class frigate – sailing towards their EEZ shortly before one of the Chinese destroyers conducted the live-fire exercise.
Nearby vessels were informed by radio immediately before the exercise that live-firing would be conducted, Kihara said.
In a high-profile incident in December, Japan said that Chinese fighter jets aimed their radar at Japanese military aircraft near its Okinawa islands, an account Beijing disputed. REUTERS
