Intimidation into Territory

Ministry of Defense confirmed that a Chinese military vessel was cruising in Japanese territory sea offshore Kuchinoerabu Island, Kagoshima, early Wednesday morning. Six days before, China sent three military vessels to contiguous zone of disputed Senkaku Islands. While China explained its behavior as legally correct, it is apparent intimidation against Japanese sovereignty. Chinese escalation policy can invite unexpected consequence.

According to MoD, a patrol aircraft of Maritime Self-defense Force confirmed that a reconnaissance vessel of Chinese Navy was passing Japanese territorial sea in the west of Kuchinoerabu Island around 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday. The vessel ignored warning of Japanese aircraft to leave Japanese territory, and cruised for one and a half hours. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fumio Kishida, recognized this incident as escalation of recent situation. The ministry protested Chinese Embassy on the official level through telephone call.

Chinese Ministry of Defense issued a statement to justify their activity in Japanese territory. “It is a strait used for international navigation and our activity matches freedom of navigation determined in United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” told the statement. China did not refer to the purpose of sneaking into Japanese territory.

U.N. Convention of the Law of the Sea allows any ships including military vessel innocent passage through territorial sea of a country. China seems to be claiming that right. But, the vessel has been collecting information of a military exercise by United States, India and Japan. It was following one of the Indian vessels. If the Chinese spy vessel were in reconnaissance operation, it would not be an innocent passage.

It was obvious that China has been frustrated with Japan’s military cooperation with U.S. In the exercise called Malabar, U.S. Navy Carrier John C. Stennis was continuing touch-and-go drill in the east of Okinawa Island. Chinese spy vessels were watching it in the distance of 12 kilometers from the carrier. A journalist of Mainichi Shimbun reported that he vaguely saw those Chinese vessels from the carrier in his press tour.

China seems to accumulating fait accompli in East and South China Sea. Experts supposed that the sneaking into Japanese territory was to see the response to its new action. While China demands military vessels of other countries reporting in passing Chinese territorial sea, it passed Japanese territory without any report. International law must not be unilaterally interpreted by an emerging power.