Military ships in the Taiwan Strait, Chinese planes around the island… The Pacific in the grip of renewed tensions

The Pacific in the grip of a new outbreak of fever? A Japanese military ship and two others from New Zealand and Australia have passed through the Taiwan Strait in recent hours, a democratic island claimed by China as part of its territory.

The Chinese army for its part said it was “on alert”, and deployed in parallel 72 planes and eight Chinese ships around the island in recent hours, according to the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense. We take stock of this renewed regional tension.

Tokyo, Wellington and Canberra operate ships

Japanese media reported Thursday that a Japanese warship passed through the Taiwan Strait for the first time on Wednesday, a week after the unprecedented passage of a Chinese aircraft carrier between Japanese islands near Taiwan, deemed “totally unacceptable » by Tokyo.

A few hours later, New Zealand indicated that it had also sent a military ship through the strait on Wednesday, a first in seven years, alongside an Australian vessel, in order to assert the “right to freedom of navigation” , according to a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense. According to him, the mission was not carried out jointly with Japan. But according to Japanese media, the three countries have planned military exercises in the South China Sea, almost all of which Beijing claims.

China “very vigilant” in the face of any threat to its “sovereignty”

“China is very vigilant regarding the political intentions of Japan”, to which it “expressed (…) its firm protest”, reacted Thursday the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Before saying more broadly that it is “very vigilant regarding any action likely to threaten China’s sovereignty”, in response to “foreign warships crossing the Taiwan Strait”.

“These operations undermine China’s sovereignty and security,” denounced Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Defense, assuring that “the Chinese army remains on high alert and will take all the necessary measures to counter these threats and provocations.”

At the same time, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry reported a total of 72 Chinese aircraft and eight warships detected around Taiwan in around 30 hours.

China considers this strait its territorial waters and regularly sends fighter jets, drones and ships around the island. But such a large number of aircraft had not been detected since July 11, when Taipei reported 66 Chinese military planes in the space of 24 hours, a record.

A rare Chinese ballistic missile test

This new large-scale military deployment comes shortly after China admitted on Wednesday to having carried out an intercontinental ballistic missile test in the Pacific, the first of this type, apparently, in several decades. Beijing rarely communicates openly about exercises of this kind.

Taiwanese diplomacy quickly reacted, expressing in a statement “its solemn condemnation of China’s continued military actions in the region which threaten the peaceful status quo”, calling on Beijing to “restraint”. This shot also sparked protests from countries in the region, led by Japan, Australia and New Zealand, worried about the strengthening of Chinese military potential.

Rising regional tensions

Tensions have been increasing in the Pacific for several weeks now. Japan had already strongly condemned in early September the incursion into its territorial waters by a Chinese navy ship. A few days earlier, Tokyo had taken off fighter planes after a Chinese military aircraft had “violated” its airspace. Japanese and Chinese ships have also been involved in incidents involving disputed areas in the past.

As for Taiwan, the spring had already been marked by an outbreak of regional fever, when Beijing launched military maneuvers in the Strait area two days after the inauguration speech of the new Taiwanese president Lai Ching-te, who had promised a “unwavering” support for maintaining the sovereignty of the democratic island.

More broadly, China’s growing economic and military influence in the Asia-Pacific region and its claims, particularly on Taiwan, worry even Westerners, including the United States, allies of Japan among others. American and Canadian warships have crossed the Taiwan Strait several times in recent months, which had already led the Chinese army to declare itself in a “state of alert”.