Japanese Warship Enters Chinese Waters, Disappointment Over No Retaliation

At the regular press conference of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on July 11, a reporter asked, “According to reports, last week, a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force frigate entered Chinese territorial waters off the coast of Zhejiang Province. What measures has China taken? Have you communicated with the other party?”

In response, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lin Jian stated that according to relevant Chinese laws, foreign military vessels must obtain approval from the Chinese government to enter Chinese territorial waters. For foreign military vessels that enter Chinese territorial waters without such approval, China will handle the matter in accordance with the law. China has lodged a stern protest over the Japanese vessel’s illegal actions, and Japan has explained that it was a technical error. China demands that Japan thoroughly investigate the matter and ensure that similar incidents do not happen again.

Many Chinese people expressed strong dissatisfaction online because Japan did not apologize or promise not to commit the “same mistake” again. They believe that since a Japanese warship has already entered Chinese territorial waters, the Chinese Navy should have fired upon it according to the law.

According to reports, while the “Suzutsuki,” a frigate belonging to the Fourth Escort Division of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, was sailing in Chinese territorial waters off the coast of Zhejiang, the Chinese military was conducting live-fire exercises in the nearby waters. It is reported that the “Suzutsuki” took a very short time for this operation, returning to port only about 53 hours after departing from Sasebo. The report mentioned that the “Suzutsuki” was “persuaded to leave” by the Chinese side after entering Chinese territorial waters.

From the map, the Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Sasebo base in western Kyushu, Japan, is about 800 kilometers from Zhejiang Province, China. If the “Suzutsuki” indeed intruded into Chinese territorial waters off Zhejiang and quickly returned to Sasebo, it would be equivalent to a round trip of about 1600 kilometers in approximately 53 hours, showing strong intent. The sole purpose of this mission was to intrude into China’s territorial baseline, possibly to gather intelligence through close reconnaissance.

As a new-generation general-purpose frigate developed by Japan, the “Suzutsuki” is the third ship of the “Akizuki” class. However, its displacement of 6,800 tons far exceeds the scope of a frigate, making it a large destroyer. This class of ship is equipped with Japan’s domestically produced ship-borne active phased array radar and command system. Its capability in medium and short-range air defense, especially in countering multiple batches of sea-skimming targets, is even superior to the “Kongo,” “Atago,” and “Maya” classes that use the U.S. Aegis system, making it a formidable Japanese indigenous Aegis ship.