With the deepening of strategic mutual trust between China and Russia, there has been more and more close cooperation between the two countries and the two militaries. According to a report by Japan's Kyodo News Agency on July 4, Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara said that a Chinese naval ship sailed into the contiguous zone near the Diaoyu Islands that morning. At the same time, Russian Navy ships were also sailing nearby.
Japan also protested against China again. In this regard, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that the Chinese navy’s activities in the waters near the Diaoyu Islands are legitimate and lawful, and Japan has no right to make irresponsible remarks. In recent years, Japan has been coveting China's Diaoyu Islands and always wants to take them as its own. The Chinese Coast Guard often patrols the waters near the Diaoyu Islands.
Taking action once is worse than warning a hundred times. The People's Liberation Army must take action to defend the sovereignty of the Diaoyu Islands. During the recent period, the navies of China and Russia have conducted various ocean-going training exercises in the waters surrounding Japan, which has left Japan struggling to cope. Last month, the Chinese Navy's 055 destroyer Lhasa went to sea for training and almost circled Japan.
The Russian Navy also moved south from Hokkaido to the Izu Islands waters in June. On July 1, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force discovered three Russian ships passing between Yonaguni Island and Iriomote Island The waters enter the East China Sea . On the 4th, these three ships appeared in the waters adjacent to the Diaoyu Islands.
It is worth noting that the Chinese naval vessels that appeared in the waters near the Diaoyu Islands this time did not belong to the Lhasa ship formation that had previously circumnavigated Japan, because the Lhasa ship had completed its first ocean-going training mission a few days ago and returned to its home port for repairs. News released by Japan also showed that what appeared in the waters near the Diaoyu Islands was the Chinese Navy's frigate .
But this is also bad news for Japan, because the Chinese navy was able to use different combat ships to pose a lasting threat to Japan in nearly a month. Its powerful strength is enough to make Japan restless. At the same time, the appearance of Russian naval vessels has also aggravated Japan's concerns.
The appearance of Chinese and Russian naval vessels in the waters near the Diaoyu Islands at the same time is not clear to the outside world. Is it a coincidence or a joint training exercise between the two navies? However, joint exercises between the two countries have long been normalized. In October 2021, the Chinese and Russian navies also formed a powerful joint fleet to circumvent Japan, which dealt a blow to Japan's arrogance.
It can also be seen from this that the military power gap between China and Japan has widened. If Japan challenges China, it can only send isolated individual ships to sneak into the South China Sea or the waters near Taiwan and wander twice, and then evacuate in despair. The Chinese Navy bypassed Japan and directly dispatched a powerful ocean-going formation. If necessary, it would also jointly operate with another big country, Russia.
Japan’s strategy towards China is harassing and probing in nature, while the Chinese Navy has been fighting for sea and air supremacy from the beginning. This is also the main reason why Japan wants to “protest” against the relevant activities of the Chinese Navy. In fact, the gap in maritime power between China and Japan has long reached an irreparable point.
Six of China’s planned Type 055 destroyers are currently in service. It is expected that all eight Type 055 destroyers will be in active service by the end of 2022, and subsequent construction plans are not ruled out. In addition, China's first electromagnetic catapult aircraft carrier is expected to enter service in 2024. By 2025, the Chinese Navy will have three aircraft carrier formations.
Regarding the huge gap in military power between China and Japan, Japan is full of envy, jealousy and hatred. But in fact, this is the normal state that China and Japan should have. For most of the past 2000 years, China had a crushing advantage over Japan. In modern times, China briefly sank, but then rose again strongly after the founding of New China.
China's current strong rise is not a challenge to the world order, but a realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Japan must have a clear understanding of this.As Wu Qian, spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, said a few years ago, Japan's protest against the Chinese navy's training in waters near Japan is mainly because its mentality has not been adjusted properly. If the Chinese navy goes there a few more times, Japan will get used to it, and it will be fine. Japan will eventually get used to China's leadership in Asia.
