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the joint staff office of the japanese ministry of defense announced on september 23 that a total of eight ships from the chinese and russian navies passed through the soya strait (also known as the la perouse strait) between japan's hokkaido and russia's sakhalin island (kurile island) that day, sailing eastward from the sea of ​​japan to the pacific ocean. another chinese electronic reconnaissance ship passed through the soya strait on the 22nd and 23rd.

kyodo news reported that this was the fourth time that the japanese ministry of defense announced that chinese and russian ships had jointly crossed the soya strait. in 2013, chinese ships first crossed the soya strait after the chinese and russian navies conducted military exercises in the sea of ​​japan.

the chinese and russian fleets photographed by the japanese side. the joint staff office of the ministry of defense of japan (the same below)

the japanese ministry of defense said that the chinese ships crossing the soya strait were the type 055 missile destroyer "wuxi" (hull number 104), the type 052d missile destroyer "xining" (hull number 117), the type 054a frigate "linyi" (hull number 547) and the type 903a comprehensive supply ship "taihu" (hull number 889).

it is worth mentioning that these four chinese warships participated in the "northern joint-2024" exercise which ended recently.

chinese warships photographed by the japanese side

the four russian warships are the large anti-submarine ship "admiral panteleyev" (hull number 548), the large anti-submarine ship "admiral tributs" (hull number 564), and two "grisha v" type frigates (hull numbers 332 and 375).

the japanese side also said that before these eight chinese and russian ships, the chinese navy's no. 794 electronic reconnaissance ship appeared in waters 60 kilometers northwest of rebun island, hokkaido at 23:00 local time on the 22nd, and then sailed in the soya strait from the 22nd to the 23rd.

chinese electronic reconnaissance ship photographed by japan

japanese law stipulates that the territorial waters are within 12 nautical miles (about 22 kilometers) from the territorial sea baseline, but in five important choke points such as the soya strait and the tsugaru strait, a territorial sea width of 3 nautical miles is implemented. the central area of ​​the strait is high seas and can be freely navigated by all countries.

this regulation originated from the idea of ​​the us military stationed in japan after world war ii, and was originally intended to open the "door" for the us navy to enter the sea of ​​japan. several former japanese foreign ministry officials have previously confirmed that the reason why japan retains the relevant high seas waterway is to facilitate the free entry and exit of us nuclear-powered ships.

according to the china military network, the soya strait is a strategic point between the sea of ​​japan and the sea of ​​okhotsk, and is like the "northern gate" of the sea of ​​japan. it is also an important passage for the russian pacific fleet to enter and exit the pacific ocean. since japan's industrial and economic zones are concentrated on the side close to the north pacific ocean, the soya strait touches japan's sensitive nerves.

the chinese ministry of national defense website released a message on september 9th, saying that according to the annual plan and the consensus between china and russia, the russian military sent naval and air forces to participate in the "northern joint-2024" exercise held by china in the relevant sea and air areas of the sea of ​​japan and the sea of ​​okhotsk in september. the exercise aims to deepen the strategic cooperation level between the chinese and russian militaries and enhance the ability to jointly respond to security threats. in addition, the chinese and russian naval fleets will go to the relevant waters of the pacific ocean to organize the fifth joint maritime cruise of the two sides.