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Japan tracks Chinese destroyer and suspected submarine on edge of its waters
- Japan says the two vessels are operating just outside its territorial waters off Amami Oshima, though Chinese state-run newspaper Global Times has accused Tokyo of a ‘publicity stunt’
- While the sub has not been sighted, its presence is given away by its acoustic signature, says expert, adding that China’s military may be probing areas where its forces ‘may, in the future, be involved in combat’
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Japan says its self-defence forces are monitoring a Chinese destroyer and what it suspects is a submarine first identified just outside Japanese territorial waters off Amami Oshima on Friday.
Three reconnaissance aircraft and two destroyers have been dispatched to the area, northeast of Okinawa, to track the vessels’ movements.
The contact comes as military tensions in the region remain high and China makes repeated claims about foreign vessels sailing through waters in the South China Sea, which Beijing has unilaterally claimed as its sovereign territory, despite competing claims from neighbouring states.
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Japan’s defence ministry said on Sunday it was tracking the Chinese destroyer and the submarine as they operated within the contiguous zone immediately beyond the 12 nautical mile limit of Japan’s territorial waters. The contiguous zone extends a further 12 nautical miles.
Under international law, foreign ships are permitted to traverse a contiguous zone but submarines are required to surface, identify themselves and display their national flag should they enter another country’s territorial waters.
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The Chinese government has not confirmed that one of its submarines is operating in the area.
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