Japan Govt. on Alert After Chinese Aircraft Carrier Enters Contiguous Zone; China May Aim to Capitalize on LDP Power Vacuum

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:29 JST, September 19, 2024

The government is on high alert in the wake of the Liaoning, a Chinese Navy aircraft carrier, entering Japan’s contiguous zone for the first time on Wednesday.

Provocative acts by Chinese military, including an incursion into Japan’s territorial airspace late last month, may aim to disrupt the country amid the political power vacuum caused by the Liberal Democratic Party’s presidential election.

“The situation is totally unacceptable,” Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroshi Moriya said at a press conference on Wednesday. He also revealed that the government has expressed serious concerns to China through diplomatic channels.

The Liaoning was spotted about 210 kilometers northwest of Uotsuri Island, one of the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture, at around 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Accompanied by two destroyers, the aircraft carrier sailed between Yonaguni Island and Iriomote Island for a few hours early Wednesday morning before heading out into the Pacific Ocean.

Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers and patrol aircraft monitored the carrier, but dangerous moves such as fighters departing and  landing the carrier were not seen.

Three Chinese Navy ships including a fast combat support ship also sailed the same route on Wednesday afternoon.

The Liaoning in 2012 became the first aircraft carrier commissioned into the Chinese navy and can carry a large number of fighters. It is believed to be capable of conducting missions in remote parts of the sea.

As the distance between Okinawa’s Yonaguni Island and Iriomote Island is only about 70 kilometers, so vessels passing between them enter Japan’s contiguous zone. Chinese Navy’s such moves add to the government’s concerns over the deterioration of Japan’s security situation.

This is the ninth time the Liaoning has sailed into the Pacific Ocean since December 2022. It had previously sailed between the Okinawa Island and Miyako Island, a route that does not require entering Japan’s contiguous zone.

“[The vessels] may have taken the shortest route to operate in the Pacific,” a senior official in the Defense Ministry noted. “[China] may aim for this to become a regular occurrence in the future.”

Since the route between Yonaguni Island and Iriomote Island is closer to Taiwan than the route between Okinawa Island and Miyako Island, it is believed that China aims to put pressure on Japan, the United States and Taiwan simultaneously.

Such acts by China have taken place repeatedly following Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s announcement that he would not run in the LDP presidential election. “It seems China is testing the response of a lame-duck administration,” a government official pointed out. The government is cautiously analyzing Beijing’s intentions.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian didn’t mention the Liaoning’s entry into Japan’s contiguous zone at a press conference on Wednesday. However, he said, “Activities related to China comply with the domestic and international laws.”