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Alcott Wei

PLA warships transited sensitive international waterways off southwestern Japan twice this week, a rare move seen as a clear warning to Tokyo over its recent actions relating to Taiwan.
The transits marked the start and end of exercises in the western Pacific, outbound through the Yokoate Channel on Sunday and back via the Yonaguni-Iriomote Waterway on Wednesday.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Eastern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army said: “[We] have organised the 133rd Fleet to complete training exercises in the western Pacific, returning via the Yonaguni-Iriomote Waterway, effectively testing the troops’ long-range operational capabilities.”
The strip of water lies between Iriomote Island and Yonaguni – Japan’s westernmost island sitting just 110km (68 miles) from Taiwan.
This is the first publicly recorded instance of PLA warships operating in the waterway.
Song Zhongping, a military analyst and former PLA instructor, viewed the PLA transits as a “warning to Japan”.
“The Yonaguni-Iriomote Waterway is a key route through which Japan could potentially influence the situation in Taiwan. The PLA’s passage through this waterway may be a warning to Japan regarding its recent statements and actions on the Taiwan issue,” Song said.


“Both Yonaguni and Iriomote islands have Japanese military bases, and the waterway is narrower than the Miyako Strait, which the PLA frequently traverses. I believe this rare passage through the channel is a direct deterrent to the military bases along the coast and will unexpectedly shock Tokyo.”
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the United States and Japan, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but both are opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force, and Washington is committed to supplying it with weapons.
The PLA sailings came three days after the Japanese destroyer Ikazuchi transited the Taiwan Strait on a historically freighted date for Beijing.
China condemned the April 17 passage as a “deliberate provocation” and lodged a strong protest with Japan.
April 17 marks the 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki, also known as the Treaty of Maguan, which ended Japan’s war of aggression against China and Korea.
The treaty stipulated that Beijing cede Taiwan, the Penghu Islands, and other maritime features to Japan, and Japan gained de facto control of the Korean peninsula. Beijing views the event as a humiliating chapter in what it calls its history of oppression.
Tokyo maintains that the Ikazuchi’s Taiwan Strait transit last week complied with international law, with the destroyer en route to the US-Philippine-led “Balikatan” military exercises.
This year marked Japan’s first participation in the combat-oriented phase of the exercises alongside its fellow US ally. Experts said it signalled Tokyo’s clear intent regarding Taiwan and the South China Sea, specifically its priorities in deterring Beijing in a Taiwan contingency.
The Yokoate Channel, through which the PLA fleet crossed into the western Pacific, sits between Yokodang Island and Amami Oshima, where Japan has important military bases. It is closer to the Japanese mainland than the Miyako Strait, which the PLA more often uses to enter the Pacific.
Song said the PLA’s choice to use the narrow channel near Japanese military bases revealed its operational logic for Japan: to operate close to perceived threats or provocations.
Although Japan frequently spots Chinese warships near its Ryukyu Islands, this is the first publicly recorded instance of PLA vessels passing through the Yokoate Channel.
Chinese military expert Song Xiaojun told state broadcaster CCTV on Sunday that the PLA regularly used this route for missions extending beyond the “first island chain” into the Pacific.
The Ryukyu Islands form a critical link in the first island chain in US defence policy, a natural arc off East Asia controlled by US partners and used to project military influence – which China seeks to resist.

The PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command focuses on the Taiwan Strait, the East China Sea and the western Pacific. According to CCTV, the lead ship of the 133rd naval task force for this operation was the Type 052DL upgraded guided-missile destroyer Baotou, hull number 133.
Tensions between Beijing and Tokyo have remained high since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said last November that a conflict in the Taiwan Strait could present a “survival-threatening” situation justifying Japanese military mobilisation.
On Tuesday, Japan also lifted restrictions on the export of lethal weapons, marking a major shift from its decades‑old “Three Principles” pacifist policy.
Beijing expressed “serious concern” over the move, with its foreign ministry warning of the need for “heightened vigilance to resolutely resist Japan’s reckless moves towards new-style militarism”.


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China

Military

‘Rare passage is a direct deterrent’ to the Japanese military bases along the coast, former PLA instructor says


‘Rare passage is a direct deterrent’ to the Japanese military bases along the coast, former PLA instructor says.


Warning over Taiwan? PLA warships make rare transits off southwest Japan

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}‘Rare passage is a direct deterrent’ to the Japanese military bases along the coast, former PLA instructor says

‘Rare passage is a direct deterrent’ to the Japanese military bases along the coast, former PLA instructor says