Chinese ship ‘shadows’ US carrier in South China Sea
A Chinese ship was “shadowing” a US aircraft carrier in the western Pacific on Wednesday, a USA official told CNN.
In a separate incident, Japanese officials said on Wednesday that another Chinese observation ship had entered Japanese waters south of Kyushu island. The last time a Chinese warship entered Japan’s waters was in 2004.
Multiple incidents during the ongoing Malabar naval exercises between India, Japan and the USA off the Okinawa coast in Japan highlighted the increasing friction between China and the other nations in the region over developments in the South China Sea, unwittingly dragging India into the tensions.
A Chinese military ship entered the waters of south-western Japan on Wednesday, government officials said.
This is the first such incident in over a decade and comes a week after a Chinese navy ship sailed near the disputed Senkaku islands.
The latest show of American might comes as Japan and the US worry about China extending its influence into the Western Pacific as it pushes its territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Japanese officials said they are analysing China’s possible motives behind the two actions.
The area in question divides the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea, and is not part of the heated territorial dispute over islands in the South China Sea.
“There is no need to provide notification or to get authorisation in advance”, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in Beijing.
China and Japan have a hot territorial dispute over islands of Senkaku (in Japan) or Diaoyu (in China) lying only 220 kilometers northeast of Taiwan in the South China Sea.
In Beijing, Chinese officials defended the naval vessel’s entry into the waters, saying the passage was in line with the principle of freedom of navigation and worldwide rules.
It marked the first time a Chinese navy ship had approached so close to the disputed islets and an angry Japan summoned Beijing’s ambassador to protest. The countries have taken steps to mend fences but relations remain tense.
“The government will continue to exert every effort in warning and surveillance activities in the waters and airspace surrounding the country”, he was quoted as saying.
Pentagon officials have expressed concern in recent weeks over China’s posture in the region after USA military aircraft encountered multiple close intercepts by Chinese military jets in the skies over the South China Sea.