DIEGO GARCIA, British Indian Ocean Territory –JS Sazanami (DD-113) arrives in Diego Garcia during a scheduled port visit July 17, 2024. U.S. Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia’s mission is to provide critical support to U.S. and allied forces forward deployed to the Indian Ocean, while supporting multi-theater forces operating in the CENTCOM, AFRICOM, EUCOM and PACOM areas of responsibilities in support of overseas contingency operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Jordan Steis)

By Gabriel Dominguez and Jesse Johnson

Beijing delivered a strongly worded warning to Tokyo on Thursday after Japan a day earlier sent a Maritime Self-Defense Force vessel through the Taiwan Strait for the first time ever following a series of unprecedented Chinese military moves inside Japanese airspace and waters.

China’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that an MSDF destroyer sailed through the waterway on Wednesday along with warships from Australia and New Zealand as they made their way to joint exercises in the South China Sea.

“The Chinese military has dealt with the vessel activities of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces in the Taiwan Strait in accordance with the law and regulations, and the Chinese side remains highly alert over Japan’s political intentions,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a news conference.

Lin said Beijing had lodged a stern representation with Tokyo, adding that “the Taiwan question” concerned China’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity, and concerns the political foundation of China-Japan relations.”

Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/09/26/japan/politics/japan-msdf-taiwan-strait-china/