Japan Expresses Concern After Chinese Aircraft Carrier Entered Its Contiguous Waters for First Time

Members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) bring down the Japanese national flag in the early evening, at the JGSDF Miyako camp on Miyako Island, Okinawa prefecture, Japan, on April 20, 2022. Issei Kato/Reuters

Japan’s defense ministry has criticized China for “unacceptable” conduct after a Chinese aircraft carrier entered Japanese contiguous waters for the first time on Sept. 18.

The Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning and two destroyers sailed between the southwestern Japanese islands of Yonaguni and Iriomote. According to the United Nations, a contiguous zone is an area that extends 24 nautical miles from a country’s territorial sea. In this zone, the country can exert some controls, such as enforcing laws related to customs and immigration.