China defends warship maneuvers through Japan’s territorial waters

China said on Monday that its naval vessel had “legally and lawfully” transited Japan’s territorial waters last week, exercising its rights under the International Treaty on the Law of the Sea.

This Hi Yang 25A Chinese hydrographic survey ship, Entered Japan’s southwestern territorial waters in the Osumi archipelago from 6 to 7:53 a.m. Saturday, according to the Defense Ministry. Japan. The vessel is used to research underwater topography for submarine navigation.

“The Tokara Strait can be guaranteed for international navigation, and by sailing through the strait, the Chinese ship was exercising its right of transit, which is completely legal and legitimate,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said during a press briefing. Conference on Monday.

The less than 35-mile-wide waterway lies between Yakushima Island in the north and Kuchinoshima Island in the south, while East China SeaWhere Japan and China There is a maritime dispute over the Philippine Sea to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east.

The strait forms the so-called first island chain, which extends southward from Japan to Taiwan and the Philippines. The first island chain is part of the containment strategy of the United States Pacific OceanWhere it seeks to limit China’s naval activities in a possible future conflict.

Newsweekshows a map of Hi Yang 25Transit in the Tokara Strait, where the vessel entered the waterway from the East China Sea and entered the waters west of Kuchinoerabu Island. It left the island in the southwest waters of Yakushima and sailed south after reaching the Philippine Sea.

The spokesperson gave the reference United Nations Convention on the Law of the SeaUNCLOS. The treaty, adopted in 1982, creates a comprehensive regime of law and order in the world’s oceans and seas, establishing rules governing all uses of the oceans and their resources.

Transit passages apply to straits that are used for international navigation between one part of the high seas or exclusive economic zone and another, according to UNCLOS. All ships have this freedom of navigation “for the purpose of the continuous and speedy transit” of the strait.

The treaty states that ships “proceed without delay through or over the strait” when exercising the right. Foreign vessels, including hydrographic survey vessels, may not conduct research or survey activities during transit passages without the “prior authorization” of states bordering the strait.

UNCLOS grants all ships the right of innocent passage through the territorial waters of another state as long as the transit is continuous and expeditious and not prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of the coastal state. Both China and Japan have signed and ratified this treaty.

According to a paper published In 1998, by the US State Department, in 1977 Japan extended its territorial waters to the usual 12 nautical miles, except for designated areas specified in five international straits, which created territorial water limits between three and 12 nautical miles.

Straits affected by this decision include the eastern and western channels of Tsushima Strait, Osumi Strait, La Perouse Strait (also known as Soya Strait), and Tsugaru Strait. Japan claims territorial waters of less than 12 nautical miles in these waterways to maintain a high seas corridor.

They are also the main gateway for China to deploy its fleets outside the waters surrounding the country in the East China Sea and South China Sea. Osumi Strait and Miyako Strait, north and south of Tokara Strait, are both part of the first island chain.

NewsweekThe map shows the locations of these Japanese straits. The Tsushima Strait connects the East China Sea and the Sea of ​​Japan, while the La Perouse Strait and Tsugaru Strait, north and south of the Japanese island of Hokkaido, connect the Sea of ​​Japan and the Pacific Ocean.

The Chinese navy has been operating in the waters east of the first island chain for years as Beijing continues to do so. Expand its fleets to contend with the US Navy and its allied naval forces.

Japan’s Defense Ministry reported on Monday that two Chinese navy ships passed through the Miyako Strait on Sunday as they sailed from the East China Sea to the Philippine Sea. They were identified by their hull numbers as Type 052C destroyers women and the Type 903A replenishment ship Chaohu.

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