The guided-missile frigate Changzhou (Hull 549) attached to a flotilla of the Chinese PLA Navy sails toward the designated waters during a maritime training exercise on November 2, 2024. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Wan Haichao)

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force on Monday claimed it had spotted three Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy vessels transiting through the Miyako Strait. Chinese military expert Song Zhongping said Japan does not need to be nervous over the Chinese warships’ normal voyages.

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force on Saturday spotted a PLA Navy Type 052D destroyer with the hull number 135 and a Type 054A frigate with the hull number 530 that sailed in waters to the northeast of Miyako Island. These Chinese vessels then crossed the waters between Okinawa Island and Miyako Island and sailed toward the Pacific Ocean, according to a press release by Japan’s Ministry of Defense Joint Staff on Monday.

The Japanese release also said the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force on Sunday spotted a PLA intelligence reconnaissance vessel with the hull number 798, which followed a similar route as the previous two PLA warships a day earlier and entered the Pacific Ocean.

The same Japanese release was also attached with photos of the three PLA Navy vessels.

Japan’s Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) have earned the nickname “chief photographer” among Chinese military observers, as JSDF often take photos of Chinese warplanes and warships when the latter conduct training exercises or patrols in far seas.

Song, the Chinese military expert, told the Global Times on Monday that the PLA regularly makes transits in the Miyako Strait, and Japan is being excessively nervous about them, because the Miyako Strait, as well as the West Pacific, are high seas.

If Japan does not want to challenge China’s core interests, it has no need to be anxious, Song said.

Other than Japanese military, the so-called “defense authority” on the island of Taiwan has also been nervous about activities by Chinese mainland vessels lately.

In response to an inquiry about claim of Taiwan island’s “defense ministry” on Monday that it detected Chinese mainland warships and coast guard vessels in waters surrounding Taiwan, and said that the PLA has restricted the airspace off the Chinese mainland coast, and whether China is conducting military drills around Taiwan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stated in a regular press conference on Monday that first of all, there is no such thing as “Taiwan’s ministry of defense.” Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory, and the Taiwan question is China’s internal affair. 

China will firmly defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, Mao said.