Taiwanese and Japanese warships joined forces Saturday (May 1) to track a Chinese Communist frigate sailing near their respective waters.
Newsweek reported on May 4 that Japan’s Defense Ministry said Saturday that the Chinese Communist Navy frigate Binzhou had passed through the Miyako Strait into the western Pacific the day before (April 30). The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force later deployed an Abukuma-class destroyer escort and two maritime patrol aircraft.
The Chinese communist warship was sailing north through the narrow waters between Taiwan and the westernmost Japanese island of Yonaguni. With a population of less than 2,000 people, including Japanese Land Self-Defense Force personnel and their families, Yonaguni is less than 70 miles (nearly 110 kilometers) off Taiwan’s east coast.
Newsweek said the satellite image, dated May 1, showed a detail that did not appear in the Japanese Defense Ministry’s statement, and that a Taiwanese warship appeared to be in the vicinity, appearing to be monitoring the Hamaju’s return to the East China Sea.
In the same photo, a Taiwan Navy Keelung-class destroyer can be seen sailing about 6 miles west of the Chinese and Japanese warships, the report said. Taipei’s Apple Daily said it was the first joint surveillance operation between Taiwan and Japan.
However, Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense officials did not confirm Taiwan Apple Daily’s claim that Taiwan and Japan had joined forces to spy on the Chinese warships. Taiwan’s Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-ching said Taiwan sends ships and aircraft to monitor any Chinese Communist military aircraft and ships operating in the designated area. Newsweek reported that Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-ching told reporters that Taiwan is cooperating with relevant friendly parties, but said he could not disclose information about specific departments.
Taiwan’s English-language media, Taiwan News, reported that Qiu Guozheng told reporters Monday (May 3) that the enemy situation has been severe recently, but that Taiwan has no deliberate intention of cooperating with any country. He said the national army will improve the surveillance task on the part of self-defense, and will definitely send aircraft and ships in the surveillance range should be.
Since the election of DPP’s Tsai Ing-wen as Taiwan’s president, the Chinese Communist Party has frequently sent military aircraft and ships to disturb Taiwan or conduct military exercises in South China waters. This aggressive approach has prompted the United States to send warships to these waters. The USS Roosevelt Carrier Battle Group (TRCSG) re-entered the South China Sea on April 4 to conduct routine operations.
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