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[global times reporter guo yuandan and liu xuanzun] the japanese ministry of defense announced on the 18th that the chinese aircraft carrier liaoning entered the contiguous zone of japanese territorial waters for the first time. reuters exaggerated that this was the latest in a series of military actions between the two neighboring countries, which has exacerbated tensions between the two sides. in response, chinese foreign ministry spokesman lin jian emphasized on the 18th that china's relevant activities are in line with china's domestic law and international law. military expert fu qianshao said in an interview with the global times that the liaoning aircraft carrier formation went to the western pacific ocean for long-distance training and sailed between yonaguni island and iriomote island. because the international waterway in the middle is relatively narrow, it is not surprising that it has attracted japan's attention, "but sailing in international waterways is in line with international law and is also the legitimate right of the people's liberation army."

liaoning ship data map source: visual china

at the end of february 2023, the liaoning returned to the dalian shipyard for maintenance. in april of the same year, the deputy captain of the liaoning said in a cctv program that the liaoning had entered the transformation stage and would be changed from a training ship to a combat ship. recently, the official documentary "quenching" publicly reported that the new fighter had made its first flight on the liaoning, so it is particularly worth paying attention to whether the liaoning, which has been "reborn from the ashes", will make a big move in the far sea training this time. in this regard, fu qianshao said that there are two possibilities for whether the new model of the liaoning will appear in this far sea: one is that although the new fighter took off from the liaoning, it has not yet been finalized and is in the test stage, so it will not participate in the far sea training mission; the other possibility is that the liaoning carries a new fighter and will conduct relevant assessments on it in due course.

the movement of the liaoning aircraft carrier has attracted attention from the outside world. according to a report by japan's kyodo news agency on the 18th, the japanese ministry of defense announced that the chinese aircraft carrier liaoning and two missile destroyers sailed between yonaguni island and iriomote island in okinawa prefecture in the early morning of the same day, entering the contiguous zone 24 nautical miles from the japanese coastline. the report said that this was the first time that japanese officials confirmed that a chinese aircraft carrier was sailing in japan's contiguous zone. earlier that day, taiwanese media quoted taiwan's defense department as saying that the liaoning aircraft carrier sailed through the northeastern waters of taiwan at 1:30 a.m. that day, and then sailed southeast of yonaguni island, japan. the japanese ministry of defense said on the 18th that while analyzing the purpose of the liaoning aircraft carrier's voyage, it will continue to maintain vigilance and surveillance. according to reports, japan's deputy chief cabinet secretary hiroshi moriya said that the japanese government has expressed "serious concerns" to the chinese government and called the incident "completely unacceptable."

"japan's hype about this matter is completely whining, making a fuss out of nothing, and deliberately exaggerating the tension." military expert zhang junshe told the global times on the 18th that from a legal perspective, the contiguous zone is not the same as the territorial waters, which means that japan does not have sovereignty over the contiguous zone, and the actions of the liaoning aircraft carrier formation are fully in line with international law.

agence france-presse said that china's growing economic and military influence and its claims in the asia-pacific region have caused concern to the united states and its allies. the report mentioned that earlier this month, japan condemned a chinese naval vessel for entering its southern island "territorial waters". in response, foreign ministry spokesman mao ning said that according to the relevant provisions of the united nations convention on the law of the sea, the tokara strait is a strait for international navigation, and chinese ships passing through the strait are exercising the right of transit passage, which is completely legitimate and legal. zhang junshe believes that japan always likes to confuse the public. for example, the truth about the so-called chinese naval vessels entering the "territorial waters" of japan's southern islands is that in order to facilitate the passage of us nuclear-powered ships, japan has implemented a 3-nautical-mile territorial waters system in important waters such as the osumi strait, the soya strait, the tsugaru strait, and the east-west channel of the tsushima strait. in straits applicable to international navigation, ships from all countries enjoy the right of transit passage. therefore, the navigation of chinese ships is in line with international law and international practice. on the contrary, japan has been trying to break through the constraints of the "peace constitution", abandon the "exclusively defensive" policy, develop offensive combat capabilities, and thus realize its ambitions of becoming a political and military power. these actions seriously threaten regional peace and stability.

the head of the us army previously stated that the united states is considering the possibility of deploying medium-range and short-range missile systems in japan. in response to this, lin jian responded to relevant questions at the regular press conference of the ministry of foreign affairs on the 18th, saying that china has repeatedly stated its solemn opposition. "we urge the us to abandon the relevant deployment plan and advise relevant countries to clearly understand the true intentions of the us, be cautious in words and deeds in the field of military security, and take practical actions to maintain regional and international peace and stability. china will pay close attention to relevant developments and resolutely safeguard its own security interests." lin jian said.