Japan has formally expressed concern to China after a Chinese navy destroyer conducted live-fire drills near the remote island of Okinotori in the Pacific Ocean on Sunday. The drills occurred during a joint exercise with Russia, according to Japanese officials.
The Japanese Joint Staff reported that the Luyang III-class guided-missile destroyer carried out the live-fire exercise hours after being spotted operating alongside two other Chinese warships and a Russian frigate. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara stated on Tuesday that Japan conveyed its concerns that the drills posed a potential safety threat to nearby vessels, noting that ships in the vicinity received advance notice.
"We will continue to watch China-Russia operations around Japan with concern, while doing utmost for the warning and surveillance of the Japanese airspace and territorial waters," Kihara said.
Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, speaking in Britain on Monday, highlighted the incident as evidence of "deepening military cooperation between China and Russia." He also pointed to a recent Chinese submarine ballistic missile launch and multiple joint flights by Chinese and Russian bombers around Japan.
Japan has expressed alarm over China’s expanding military operations in the Pacific. This concern has been amplified by past sightings of Chinese aircraft carriers operating simultaneously near southern Japanese islands, such as Iwo Jima last year, raising fears about Beijing's military reach.
The live-fire drills took place approximately 110 miles southwest of Okinotori, within Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Japan's EEZ grants it rights over natural resources in the area beyond its immediate territorial waters. While China stated it concluded joint naval exercises with Russia on July 13 and that some participating ships were engaged in joint patrols, it remained unclear why these patrols would involve live firing.
China's official Xinhua News Agency reported the exercises were held off the port city of Qingdao on China's east coast. Beijing has previously disputed Japan's claim to an EEZ around Okinotori, arguing it is an atoll, not an island.
Japan's Joint Staff indicated this was the first time it had disclosed the detection of Chinese live-fire drills within a Japanese EEZ, though the action did not violate international law. Earlier on Sunday, the same fleet of four Chinese and Russian warships had sailed southward between the main Japanese islands of Okinawa and Miyako.
In remarks posted online late last week, China's Defense Ministry spokesperson Jiang Bin emphasized the importance of China-Russia military cooperation for safeguarding sovereignty and security, and for upholding international and regional peace. He urged relevant parties to view this cooperation objectively and refrain from groundless speculation or criticism.