Japan Spots Chinese Amphibious Assault Ship in Western Pacific

China's sole operational aircraft carrier, the Liaoning (front), sailing with other ships during a drill at sea in this file photo. (AFP via Getty Images)

China’s People Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) reportedly sent its amphibious assault ship to the straits between the islands of Japan on June 29, the first known instance of the warship being spotted in the Western Pacific.

Japan’s Ministry of Defense said that two PLAN ships—the Type 075 amphibious assault ship Guangxi and the Type 052 destroyer Baotou—were spotted sailing through the Osumi Strait and into the Western Pacific waters on June 29.

The military detected two more PLAN ships, the Type 054A frigate Anyang and the Type 902 support ship Chaohu, sailing through Japan’s Amami islands into the Western Pacific waters later that day.

Japan’s military responded by deploying reconnaissance and fighter aircraft, as well as naval vessels, to monitor the PLAN ships’ movement, Taiwan News reported.

This followed the military’s previous claims that two Russian Steregushchy-class frigates were spotted sailing off the waters near Taiwan and Japan’s Okinawa islands between June 27 and June 30.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry also reported spotting two Russian frigates near the eastern coast of Taiwan on June 27, but it did not specify the ships’ names or distance from Taiwan’s coast.

These reports came amid communist China’s increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea, which it claims almost entirely, and growing concerns over a possible escalation in Taiwan, which the Chinese regime views as its own and has vowed to conquer by force if necessary.

Russia, which has backed Beijing’s stance on Taiwan, has been boosting Moscow’s defenses in its vast far-eastern regions bordering the Asia-Pacific, accusing the United States of expanding its presence there.

Japan Think Tank Invites Taiwan

Meanwhile, the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies has invited Taiwanese military experts to take part in tabletop war games simulating a Chinese blockade of Taiwan and a large-scale assault in the Taiwan Strait, Taiwanese news agency CNA reported.

The military simulation is expected to take place in Tokyo from July 15 to July 23. The inclusion of Taiwanese scholars in the simulation is attributed to the island’s strategic location along key supply routes for Japan, according to CNA.

The USS Chung-Hoon observes a Chinese navy ship conduct what it called an "unsafe” Chinese maneuver in the Taiwan Strait, on June 3, 2023. The Chinese navy ship cut sharply across the path of the American destroyer, forcing the U.S. ship to slow to avoid a collision. (Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Andre T. Richard/U.S. Navy via AP)

Japan has previously raised concerns over China’s military threat toward Taiwan. Last year, the ministry devoted 10 pages of its annual defense report (pdf) to Taiwan, double the pages of the previous year’s edition, giving an extensive overview of the security situation there.

The 2022 defense report stated that conflict between the United States and China is becoming “prominent” over Taiwan, with Washington increasing warship transits through the Taiwan Straits while China increases its military presence near Taiwan.

Japan considers the stability surrounding Taiwan to be of paramount importance for its national security and emphasizes the need for close monitoring “with a sense of urgency.”

United States Must Lead

Both the United States and Japan have said they will defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack. However, they haven’t specified how they will address the immediate internal challenges facing the Taiwanese and Japanese militaries. Those challenges include policies, capacities, and war preparedness.

Despite the threat facing them, Japan and Taiwan have not yet made sufficient efforts to collectively reinforce deterrence and improve their ability to contribute to the common defense.

Geo-strategists believe the impending situation cannot be resolved without America taking the lead in this regard.

“The U.S. needs to fight against China in the front line. If the U.S. stays at the back … and asks Japan and Taiwan to fight, they’ll not fight,” Satoru Nagao, a non-resident research fellow with the Washington-based Hudson Institute, told The Epoch Times. For leadership to be effective, “the leader fights in the front,” Nagao said.

According to the current plan, Nagao said, Japan will increase its defense budget by 56 percent over the next five years. “However, China has increased [its budget] more,” he said. “Without cooperation with other countries, Japan alone cannot prepare enough budget” to counter the Chinese threat.

Venus Upadhayaya and Reuters contributed to this report.