(Photo : MARK SCHIEFELBEIN/AFP via Getty Images)
A Chinese war vessel was spotted off the southwestern coast of Japan's Okinawa island late Monday, May 9, spurring the country to keep close tabs on the aircraft carrier and its warplanes. The Chinese vessel is reported to have already sanctioned over 100 takeoffs of its fighter jets, as well as assorted helicopter activity throughout the area, to what means remains uncertain.
Amid a press briefing held on Monday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno relayed that consistent surveillance of China's aircraft carrier and its aircraft will be imperative moving forward. The official also noted that its appearance might be due to China's increased efforts to strategize and heighten its operational capacities within the Pacific ocean for both its maritime and aerial fleets.
China's aircraft carrier Liaoning was likewise spotted between the islands of Okinawa and Miyako last week, whereupon supply ships and missile destroyers could also be seen accompanying the vessel. In efforts to defend and keep a watchful eye over the area, Japan has sent its Izumo helicopter carrier via the country's Maritime Self-Defense Force. China's Liaoning was spied for six days sending assorted aircraft, such as jets and helicopters, 160 kilometers from Japan's Ishigaki Island.
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China has been bolstering its military might within waters over the past several months, strengthening not just its core maritime standing but likewise the technology that goes along with it. These include not only a nuclear-powered carrier, titled the Type 003, but also a prototype hypersonic missile that can supposedly incapacitate rival aircraft carriers. Specifically, in Japanese waters, China has remained bullish in its attempts to assert dominance within the area without actual violence.
"The government will continue to watch moves by the Chinese military in waters around Japan," said Matsuno amid Monday's press briefing.
Japan has been ever cautious and on high alert with such power moves made via its Asian counterpart. The fears have been bred since Russia's attack on Ukraine, spurring woes in Japan of an Indo-Pacific skirmish if not kept in check. The island country even lodged a complaint regarding a separate incident on Monday involving Chinese Coast Guard ships entering waters near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. Although uninhabited and controlled largely by Japan, China has laid claim on the islets, coining them the Diaoyu, activities which Matsuno calls "regrettable and intolerable."
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