China Accuses US Ally of Deploying Warship Near Coast
Chinese officials on Friday accused Japan of provoking “trouble” after a Japanese warship transited the Taiwan Strait, as heightened naval activity in the region coincides with growing scrutiny of shipping through key maritime chokepoints.
“Japanese Self-Defense Force vessels entered the Taiwan Strait. The Chinese military has handled the matter in accordance with laws and regulations,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said during Friday’s regular press briefing. “Such actions seriously damage the political foundation of China–Japan relations and seriously threaten China’s security and sovereignty.”
Beijing's Communist Party government claims sovereignty over the Taiwan Strait by virtue of its claim to democratic Taiwan, despite never having ruled the island. Taipei, Washington and many other governments regard the waterway-less than 100 miles wide at its narrowest-as international waters.
The United States-and increasingly allies with an active naval presence in the region such as Australia, the United Kingdom and Japan-conduct transits through the busy strait to challenge Beijing's claims, which they view as incompatible with freedom of navigation under international law.
A Murasame-class destroyer, the JS Ikazuchi, became the fourth Japanese warship to transit the strait on Friday, according to Japanese media outlet Kyodo News.
Newsweek reached out to the Japanese and Taiwanese defense ministries by email for comment.
“Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has made erroneous remarks regarding Taiwan that have already dealt a serious blow to China-Japan relations,” Guo said. “By dispatching a Self-Defense Force vessel into the Taiwan Strait, to display force and deliberately provoke trouble, Japan has compounded its mistake. This once again exposes the attempts by some in Japan to intervene militarily in the Taiwan Strait [and] marks a dangerous attempt to undermine peace and stability in the region.”
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Taiwan's Maritime Zone Claims
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The protest follows an April 15 joint statement by Takaichi and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk voicing support for cross-strait peace and stability.
Tokyo-Beijing ties have deteriorated since November, when Takaichi suggested that a hypothetical Chinese blockade of Taiwan could constitute an emergency warranting joint intervention by Japan and the U.S. Beijing framed the remarks as evidence of Japanese remilitarization and has responded with a range of economic and diplomatic measures.
Facing what Takaichi has called Japan’s “most severe and complex security environment since World War II,” the country has doubled defense spending to 2 percent of GDP from 1 percent. The Takaichi administration is also pushing to relax decades-old restrictions on the export of weapons in a bid to boost its defense industry and improve interoperability with regional partners.
Newsweek's reporters and editors used Martyn, our Al assistant, to help produce this story. Learn more about Martyn.
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This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 10:42 AM.