China State Media Says Frequent Warship Activity Near Japan a Warning

China's frequent naval activity near Japanese islands should be considered a warning to Tokyo for its support of Taiwan and its military exercises with the United States and other allies, a Communist Party newspaper said Wednesday.

The Global Times, which espouses some of the Chinese government's most hawkish views, accused Japan of "acting hostile toward China" through its protection of the disputed Senkaku Islands, which Beijing claims as its Diaoyu Islands.

The pointed article was published a day after the Japanese Defense Ministry's Joint Staff Office said it had detected three People's Liberation Army (PLA)warships sailing past Japanese islands into the Pacific on May 31.

The Chinese navy vessels were spotted about 150 nautical miles west of Yakushima Island—south of Kyushu, one of Japan's five main islands— and were monitored by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter destroyer JS Ise and a P-1 maritime patrol aircraft.

The flotilla comprising of Type 052D destroyer Taiyuan, Type 054A frigate Xiangtan and Type 903A replenishment ship Chaohu sailed in international waters through the East China Sea and the Osumi Strait, the notice said.

PLA Navy warships also sailed through the Tsushima Strait—north of Kyushu—into the Sea of Japan in March. In addition, multiple vessels escorted Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning through the Miyako Strait ahead of three weeks of naval exercises in April.

The deployments "reflect the PLA Navy's increasing far sea operational capability, as the service aims to become a blue-water navy," but the operations should also be "interpreted as warnings to Japan," said the Global Times.

The state-owned tabloid accused Tokyo of "hyping topics" including the Senkakus, where Japanese maritime patrol ships have had frequent run-ins with armed Chinese coast guard vessels this year.

The Japanese government's position on Taiwan, such as its concern for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, has also been interpreted by Beijing as interference into what it considers a domestic political matter, according to the newspaper run by China's ruling party.

The Chinese government's latest complaint is over Tokyo's decision to consider donating excess vaccines to Taipei, which is experiencing its first major COVID-19 outbreak since the start of the pandemic.

The month of May saw Japanese forces take part in regular exercises with the U.S. and others. Helicopter carrier JS Ise and the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group featured in a four-day training drill in the Western Pacific, which concluded Saturday May 29.

Also in May was Tokyo's first time hosting U.S., Australian and French troops on Japanese soil for the joint exercise Jeanne D'Arc 21.

The Global Times said Japan's military exercises with Western countries were "targeting China."