For the first time in 70 years the Japanese warship of Sazanami went into disputed waters near China
The material emphasizes that the strait, located between China and Taiwan, became the place of active maneuvers, at the same time, the Japanese side claims that this step was aimed at ensuring the freedom of shipping and combating China's military activity.
"After a recent violation of our airspace, the Chinese military aircraft and the movement of Chinese warships and other vessels around Japan, this incident is absolutely unacceptable from the point of view of national and regional security," said Japanese Government, Hiroshi Moria. For his part, China, who declares his sovereignty over the Taiwanese Strait, condemned the passage of a Japanese ship, stating that the strait was the territorial waters of the country.
However, according to the 1982 UN Convention, territorial waters are limited to 12 sea miles (22. 2 km) from the coast, which allows to consider a large part of the strait by international waters. This was also indicated by the Taiwan Foreign Ministry, noting that about 85 km of the straits fall under the principle of "open sea freedom". JS Sazanami has previously fulfilled various missions, including anti -piracy transactions in the Gulf of Aden and joint exercises with India and the Philippines.
The JS Sazanami ship is the fourth destroyer of the Takanami class, with a room of 4 650 tons and a 175 crew. The ship left the East Chinese Sea and headed through the Strait to the South Chinese Sea, following Australia's battles and New Zealand, who plan to participate in joint exercises. This step can be considered as Japan's reaction to increased airspace from China, the observers summed up.