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[global times reporter guo yuandan and global times special correspondent sun mo] according to japan's kyodo news agency report on the 26th, the japanese maritime self-defense force ship "ren" passed through the taiwan strait together with australian and new zealand ships on the 25th. this is the first time a japanese maritime self-defense force ship has passed through the strait. japan's "asahi shimbun" stated on the 26th that this move marked a "new stage" in japan's deterrence strategy against china. however, while sending a strong signal to china, it also brought the risk of unpredictable consequences. china's ministry of foreign affairs and ministry of national defense issued serious responses to japan's actions on the 26th.

"the people's liberation army will monitor and monitor it throughout the process. china firmly opposes provocative actions that send wrong signals to the 'taiwan independence' forces and endanger china's sovereignty and security in the name of 'freedom of navigation'," said zhang xiaogang, spokesperson of the ministry of national defense, in a routine statement on the 26th. he said at the press conference that the taiwan issue is purely china's internal affair and does not tolerate any external interference. we urge relevant countries to earnestly abide by the one-china principle, stop causing trouble on the taiwan issue, and stop undermining peace and stability across the taiwan strait. the chinese people's liberation army has always maintained a high degree of alert and preparedness, and resolutely countered all threats and provocations.

according to japan's "sankei shimbun" report, japan had previously considered allowing maritime self-defense force ships to pass through the taiwan strait, but due to concerns about china'sdiaoyu islandsit was shelved due to the escalation of "provocative activities" in its affiliated islands and other areas. in november 2019, while japanese and u.s. ships tracked the chinese aircraft carrier, only japan's ships left the area as the chinese aircraft carrier entered the taiwan strait. japanese media quoted government sources as saying that the japanese warship's operation through the taiwan strait was ordered by prime minister fumio kishida. he worries that if no action is taken after china's various "intrusive" behaviors, beijing may be encouraged to take more "strong and arbitrary" actions. the so-called "intrusion" behavior includes the japanese ministry of defense's previous accusation that the chinese aircraft carrier liaoning entered the contiguous zone of japan's territorial waters for the first time.

in this regard, chinese foreign ministry spokesperson lin jian stated at a regular press conference on the 26th that the taiwan issue is related to china’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and is related to the political foundation of sino-japanese relations. it is an insurmountable red line. china is highly vigilant about japan's political intentions and has lodged stern representations with japan. japan made a clear commitment in this regard in the 1972 sino-japanese joint statement, that is, the japanese government recognized the government of the people's republic of china as the only legitimate government of china. the government of the people's republic of china reiterates that taiwan is an inalienable part of the territory of the people's republic of china. the japanese government fully understands and respects this position of the chinese government and insists on following article 8 of the potsdam declaration. lin jian emphasized, "we urge japan to keep its promises on the taiwan issue, be cautious in its words and deeds, and not to cause interference to china-japan relations and peace and stability across the taiwan strait."

foreign affairs universityzhou yongsheng, a professor at the institute of international relations, said in an interview with a reporter from the global times on the 26th that since 2017,japan maritime self-defense forcemany will go to the south china sea for training operations in the autumn, but have never chosen to transit the taiwan strait. "this break from past routine actions has a strong meaning and is closely related to japan's current domestic public opinion that it needs to counterattack china." "

as for wooing australia and new zealand to sail through the taiwan strait together, zhou yongsheng believes that in essence, japan hopes to introduce the military power of some developed western countries into the region and use it to achieve the purpose of containing china's military power, thereby making china japan has too much time to take care of itself in the east china sea and south china sea, and japan can profit from it. "what needs to be vigilant is that now that this precedent has been established, we cannot rule out that japan will normalize transit operations through the taiwan strait in the future." zhou yongsheng said, "we must also be wary of japan and some countries conducting joint exercises in the south china sea in new ways. ”

kyodo news quoted relevant sources as saying that the "ryan" and other ships may sail to the exercise waters in the south china sea. the maritime self-defense force plans to conduct joint exercises with the australian and new zealand militaries in the south china sea starting from the 26th. in this regard, ding duo, deputy director of the institute of marine law and policy of the china south china sea research institute, said in an interview with a reporter from the global times on the 26th that japan is actually imitating previous european countries that first sailed through the taiwan strait and then sailed to the south china sea. the act of carrying out training operations.

tyndall believes that the actions of japan and other three countries are a "face" given to the united states. this move is a response and implementation of the u.s. government's emphasis on "strengthening coordination among indo-pacific strategic allies." but there is no doubt that this is not conducive to the security and stability of the taiwan strait and south china sea. "it needs to be emphasized that no matter how these countries play tricks, china's national territory and sovereignty cannot be divided. the people's liberation army will take targeted measures, such as tracking and surveillance, identification and verification, expulsion, etc., to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity." express.