Russia want to increase its strategic dominance in the East China Sea and Arctic Circle and it is often that Russian incursion is seen in Japanese water or near Japanese islands, but this time a new phenomenon is being seen when a Chinese ship chased a Russian warship near Senkaku islands in the East China Sea on 4 July 2022.
The Senkaku Islands is a group of small inhabitants islands strategically located 186 kilometres northeast of Taiwan. Taiwan also claims their autonomy over islands with China and China calls Senkaku Diaoyu. The Russian frigate remains in Japanese water for around 1 hour and 11 minutes, according to Japan’s defence ministry.
Similarly, three Russian ships on 1 and 2 July, were passed through two Japanese islands near Taiwan’s East county Hualien. However, China and Russia made significant progress in military cooperation besides the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. On the sidelines of the Quad Summit in Tokyo in May 2022, six Russian and Chinese bombers conducted a joint flight over Japanese water in the East China Sea.
But the Chinese observer is not seeing Russian sailing near the Taiwan coast as Sino-Russia cooperation. They believe that this time Russia has gone so far. Zhou Chenming, a researcher at the Beijing-based Yuan Wang Military Science and Technology Institute said that “The Russians have gone too far this time,” SCMP reported. He said that China does not want that America and Russia come close to Taiwanese water.
Beijing knows the Russian military advancement and wants closer military cooperation with Moscow but in the ongoing war, China found itself in conflicting situations where Beijing does not want to use in hands of the former KGB state and is carrying possible careful attempt to avoid sanctions.
A former National Assembly member, Huang states that “On the one hand, it has to maintain friendly ties with Russia, but on the other hand, it hopes to keep a distance from Moscow to avoid being dragged into the murky water by Russia,” SCMP reported.
The Japanese official on the Chinese action to chase the Russian warship said, “China was likely trying to demonstrate its territorial claim to the Senkakus.” But it is unlikely that Chinese action was only for Japan. After the 2 July incident when Russian frigates were passing through Taiwan’s East coast, ostensibly, the 4 of July incident is a message even for Russia.
