Japanese Navy Ship Sails Through Taiwan Strait for First Time

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Facts

  • Japan's JS Sazanami naval destroyer, accompanied by Australian and New Zealand naval ships, sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday.[1]
  • While this was the Japanese navy's first time sailing through the Strait since World War II — reportedly to travel to the South China Sea for military exercises — the US, Australia, and the UK have been doing so for years.[2][3]
  • Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reportedly approved the move in response to Chinese military craft entering its territory, including planes flying over Japanese airspace a month ago. China filed its own complaint with Japan following Wednesday's sailing.[2][4]
  • As Japan's navy was making its historic trek through the Strait, its air force on Wednesday was conducting drills with their US counterparts off of Okinawa. A day later, Taiwanese officials reported Chinese aircraft and ships encircling the island.[5]
  • This comes just days after the Quad countries — Japan, Australia, the US, and India — met in the US, during which they agreed to grow their military cooperation.[6][1]

Sources: [1]BBC News, [2]South China Morning Post, [3]Bangkokpost, [4]Al Jazeera, [5]The Japan Times and [6]Verity.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Understandingwar and The Straits Times. China's military has been sailing through and flying over the Taiwan Strait for months, antagonizing both neighboring countries like Japan and the Philippines and allies like Australia. Beijing is attempting to control not only Taiwan, but also the internationally recognized waterways upon which many countries rely. If Beijing continues to flex its military might in the region, Western navies will respond in kind.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Global Times. The Western establishment, directed by neoconservatives in the US with the help of its Asian allies, is trying to turn the South China Sea region into another NATO-like military alliance. To accomplish this — just as it did with its so-called interventions in Yugoslavia, Kosovo, and Serbia — it seems Western militaries are preparing to invade the region, risking an all-out war with China. US allies in Asia and Europe must stop taking marching orders from Washington before it's too late.

Predictions