US Ally Intercepts Chinese Fleet Breaching Pacific Island Chain

A fleet of Chinese naval vessels, led by an amphibious assault ship, has been operating in the contested waters off southwestern Japan, beyond a strategic Western Pacific island chain meant to keep China’s forces in check.

Newsweek has reached out to the Chinese Defense Ministry for comment by email.

Why It Matters

Japan, along with U.S.-friendly Taiwan and the U.S. treaty ally Philippines, forms part of the so-called first island chain, an American maritime containment strategy that aims to restrict China’s military to its coastal waters with the help of U.S.-aligned territories in the region.

China has the world’s largest navy by hull count, with more than 370 ships and submarines, including three Type 075 amphibious assault ships currently in active service. These vessels can project both ground and air power during island-landing operations in contested waters.

Beijing is expanding its military reach and presence within and beyond the Western Pacific island chain, a challenge to Washington’s historical naval dominance. Chinese warships have often been seen operating east of the first island chain and approaching the second island chain.

What To Know

A group of five Chinese navy ships was detected traveling south through the Miyako Strait—a waterway in Japan’s southwestern islands—from the East China Sea toward the Philippine Sea, according to the report issued by the Joint Staff Office of Japan’s Defense Ministry.

The Chinese flotilla comprised the Type 075 amphibious assault ship Anhui; the Type 052D destroyer Suzhou; a pair of Type 054A frigates, the Zhoushan and the Xuzhou; and the Type 071 amphibious transport dock Longhushan—all identified by their hull numbers.

Meanwhile, satellite imagery captured Sunday appeared to show three Chinese naval vessels—including a Type 075 amphibious assault ship, a Type 071 amphibious transport dock and a Type 054A frigate—operating 229 miles east from Taiwan‘s southernmost point.

However, it was not immediately clear whether the Chinese ships were the same ones that had transited the Miyako Strait earlier. If confirmed, this would mark the second time the Anhui has operated both near Japan’s southwestern islands and Taiwan since February.

The Chinese navy’s regular presence in the area will have implications for any U.S. defense strategy to prevent the forcibly seizure of self-ruled Taiwan, the island Beijing has long claims is part of Chinese territory. A Taiwan Strait crisis would likely impact the Philippines as well.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea defines a coastal state’s territorial waters as extending up to 12 nautical miles (13.8 miles) from its coastline, while its exclusive economic zone extends a further 200 nautical miles (230 miles) beyond that.

Japan did not report any breach of territorial waters.

What People Are Saying

Japan’s 2024 Defense White Paper read: “China has been rapidly building up military capabilities while intensifying its activities in the East China Sea…as well as in the Pacific.”

Senior Colonel Wu Qian, China’s Defense Ministry spokesperson, said: “Japan has been closely tracking, monitoring, and interfering with Chinese vessels and aircraft for a long time, jeopardizing the safety of Chinese vessels and aircraft and easily causing maritime and air security problems.”

The Pentagon’s China military power report said: “The [People’s Liberation Army Navy]’s ability to perform missions beyond the [first island chain] is modest but growing as it gains more experience operating in distant waters and acquires larger and more advanced platforms.”

What Happens Next

It remains to be seen whether the Anhui-led naval task group will be part of a Chinese military exercise around Taiwan.