TOKYO: The Defense Ministry announced that a Chinese missile destroyer had conducted a live-fire drill using a machine gun within Japan’s exclusive economic zone on Sunday.
According to the ministry, the destroyer sailed near Okinotorishima Island along with other Chinese and Russian naval vessels that day.
The live-fire drill took place in waters approximately 180 kilometers southwest of the island. Vessels navigating nearby and others had been notified in advance of the drill period and location. No damage to nearby vessels or other objects, nor any intrusion into Japan’s territorial waters, has been confirmed.
The ministry said this is the first time, to the best of its knowledge, that a live-fire drill by a foreign naval vessel within Japan’s EEZ had been publicly disclosed.
The Chinese and Russian navies conducted joint military exercises off the coast of Qingdao in China’s Shandong Province and elsewhere earlier this month. Some of the vessels subsequently traveled to the Pacific Ocean to conduct what they described as a joint maritime patrol. The live-fire drill is believed to have been part of this operation.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force confirmed that two Chinese missile destroyers – including the one that conducted the drill – one Chinese supply ship and one Russian frigate sailed south between the islands of Okinawa and Miyako on Thursday, heading toward Okinotorishima Island.
In another example of military cooperation involving China and Russia, four bombers conducted a joint flight from the East China Sea to the Pacific off the coast of the Shikoku region at the end of June. The live-fire drill is also believed to have been intended to put pressure on Japan.
On July 6, Chinese Navy conducted a test launch of a submarine-launched ballistic missile into the Pacific. In August 2022, a ballistic missile fired during an exercise by China landed within Japan’s EEZ south of Yonaguni Island, Okinawa Prefecture.
Prior to the Defense Ministry’s announcement, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi mentioned the live-fire drill during a speech at the Farnborough International Airshow on Monday in southern England.
He also touched on the recent series of joint flights by Chinese and Russian bombers, stating with a sense of caution that “military cooperation between China and Russia is strengthening.” - Japan News/ANN
