China Claims Japanese Destroyer Entered Its Waters ‘Illegally’

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that Beijing lodged a formal complaint with Tokyo about the “illegal and improper” actions of a Japanese destroyer that entered Chinese territorial waters near Taiwan on July 4.

The JS Suzutsuki is an Akizuki-class destroyer that the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) operates. The ship was sailing off the coast of China’s Zhejiang province in July to monitor Chinese naval drills.

Zhejiang officials announced on July 3 that a “no-sail zone” was being established off the coast so the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) could conduct live-fire drills. 

For reasons not yet clear, the captain of the Suzutsuki reportedly disregarded warnings from Chinese ships to leave the area when it made a rare approach within 12 nautical miles of the coast on July 4. This was much closer than JMSDF vessels usually come to Chinese territory.

Instead of leaving the area, the Suzutsuki reportedly accelerated and entered Chinese territorial waters for about 20 minutes before departing.

Japanese officials said the destroyer made a “procedural error” and entered Chinese waters by accident. They cited a provision of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that permits “innocent passage” through the territorial waters of another nation.

Some international legal experts question if the right of innocent passage can be applied to a military vessel since the UNCLOS stipulates that such passage must be safe and pose no realistic threat to national security.

Chinese officials countered that the Japanese ship was too advanced and its crew too skilled for such a navigational error to occur. They said the Suzutsuki did not request permission to enter China’s waters, as it could easily have done, so its passage could be interpreted as an “intentional provocation” or an illegal effort to gather intelligence on Chinese activities.

“I wonder why Japan made such a provocative move amid efforts by both countries to stabilize relations,” a Chinese diplomatic source grumbled to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on Thursday.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Thursday that Beijing has “lodged representations” with Japan over the “illegal and improper actions” of the Suzutsuki. Japanese and Chinese officials have spoken unofficially since the incident occurred but have issued no formal statements as of Thursday.

Kyodo News reported on Thursday that the Japanese Defense Ministry has launched an investigation into the actions of the Suzutsuki’s captain. The ministry would offer no public comment on the status or scope of the investigation.