Japan informed the Chinese side that the captain of the Japanese warship that sailed into China's territorial waters in July has been dismissed. What is Japan's purpose and position reflected in Japan's response to the July incident of intrusion into China's territorial waters? What kind of signal did the Japan side send about the results of the warship's handling?
According to Japan's Kyodo News Agency, citing diplomatic sources, Japan has told China that a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force frigate sailed into China's territorial waters in July this year despite repeated warnings from Chinese ships as unintentional, and said that the captain involved had been replaced, which was considered a serious mistake.
Specifically, in the early morning of July 4, the Liangyue sailed into China's territorial waters without permission in an area about 12 nautical miles off the coastline of China's Zhejiang Province, which lasted about 20 minutes. When a base of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force learned of the incident, he immediately inquired, but the commander who was the captain at the time said that he had "no knowledge" that the ship had entered the "restricted zone."
You must know that just one day before the "Liangyue" incident, the Chinese Zhejiang Provincial Government announced that it would set up a no-sail zone in the nearby waters to conduct military firing exercises, and the "Liangyue" was tasked with monitoring this exercise. Japan, for its part, has tried to justify its actions by invoking the right of innocent passage in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. However, foreign vessels must obtain prior permission to enter China's territorial waters, so the Liangyue's actions violated China's domestic laws.
Judging from the previous response of the Japanese side in July, on the one hand, it admitted that the "Liangyue" entered China's territorial waters and said that it would investigate the matter; On the other hand, an attempt was made to downplay the seriousness of the incident through "technical errors". However, this explanation has not dispelled China's misgivings and public skepticism.
Especially when considering the sophistication of the trajectory and monitoring system of the "Cool Moon" as a large frigate with a full load displacement of 6,800 tons, the so-called "technical error" is even more difficult to establish. In addition, there are obvious contradictions in the Japanese side's claim that the "Cool Moon" was driven away while approaching China's territorial waters, but still sailed in the territorial waters for about 20 minutes. This detail further deepened public doubts about the veracity of the Japanese explanation.
After the frigate "Cool Moon" was revealed to have been negligent during a mission to monitor China's military exercises on the high seas, the professionalism of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force was widely questioned. According to people familiar with the matter, further investigation results show that the captain of the ship just took office in May this year, and when the frigate entered China's territorial waters, there were obvious omissions in the transmission of information between the officers on duty on the ship.
Based on these findings, the captain was relieved of his duties in July for dereliction of duty. In addition, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force is considering admonishing other crew members who fail to adequately inspect navigation equipment, maintain vigilance, and report the situation to the captain in a timely manner. The purpose of explaining the situation to the Chinese side and dealing with the captain of the ship involved is to ease Sino-Japanese relations, manage the risk of escalation of the incident, and reduce the negative impact of the incident. Of course, this may not be a voluntary act of the Japanese side, and there may be multiple factors behind this behavior.
On the one hand, China expressed strong dissatisfaction with the "Cool Moon" incident, denounced it as an "illegal and improper act", and urged Japan to conduct a thorough investigation and take effective measures to prevent similar incidents from happening again. At the same time, China has frequently dispatched warships and coast guard vessels into the waters around the Diaoyu Islands to increase the intensity and frequency of law enforcement. Obviously, China's move is a clear message to Japan that China will resolutely safeguard its territorial and territorial sea sovereignty.
On the other hand, with the official launch of the second phase of the "Northern · Joint-2024" exercise in the waters near the Sea of Japan on September 23, the military cooperation between China and Russia has once again become the focus of attention of the international community, which not only reflects the firm determination of the two sides to jointly maintain regional peace and stability, but also makes Japan feel the tremendous pressure. In this case, the Japanese side may have dealt with the captain of the ship involved to give an explanation to the Chinese side, which may also be a helpless move under the "forced circumstances".
However, the Japanese side's handling of the captain of the ship involved cannot dispel people's doubts about the purpose of the warship's intrusion into China's territorial waters and the so-called "technical error" given by the Japanese side. After all, Japan has violated the territorial waters of other countries many times in its history, and its so-called "mistakes" may hide more complex strategic considerations. In particular, for a long time, Japan has been acting as a "pawn" of United States stirring up the situation in the Asia-Pacific region. In this regard, neighboring countries, including China, should be vigilant enough.