WW3 fears after China fires on Japanese navy ship after it strays into contested waters

Chinese warships opened fire on a Japanese naval vessel after it strayed into contested waters in the East China Sea last year, a new report claims.

The Chinese ships fired at least two warning shots at a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer in July 2024 after it had unknowingly strayed into Chinese territorial waters off of the eastern province of Zhejiang.

Diplomatic sources claim several warnings were sounded to the Suzutsuki, which was tasked with monitoring Chinese military drills in the area.

But the destroyer's electronic navigational chart reportedly did not show the boundary dividing the sea border between the neighbouring nations.

China has continually been quick to assert naval dominance in its surrounding waters, regularly performing aggressive manoeuvres towards foreign vessels and encroaching into territories it disputes with Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines.

On Monday (August 11), video footage released by the latter country's coast guard appears to show a Chinese warship and coast guard colliding after pursuing a Philippines patrol boat.

Last year, on July 4, Japan's Akizuki-class destroyer observed live-fire drills being carried out by the People's Liberation Army after Zhejiang's maritime command had declared a no-sail zone for July 3 and 4.

Still, when the 6,800-ton ship sailed into the exclusion zone, repeated warnings were sounded to no avail, leading to at least two shells being fired in the Japanese craft's direction, one before and one after it had entered the territorial zone, according to Japan's Kyodo News.

Collin Koh, a senior fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: "[People's Republic of China vessels] fired warning shots at JS Suzutsuki last July, including before the JMSDF ship even entered PRC territorial sea. Escalatory for sure."

The Suzutsuki was not struck by either shell, and no damage was reported during the 20 minutes it spent inside the territorial sea.

Kyodo News further claimed the mistake had been triggered by a crew error when a switch turning on the navigational chart display was not turned on, meaning no boundary between international and territorial waters had been marked.

Beijing branded the incident "illegal and improper" before calling for Japanese officials to launch a full-scale investigation to prevent similar actions from happening.

The Suzutsuki's captain was replaced the same month, just two months into the role, then-Japanese Defence Minister Minoru Kihara confirmed in September 2024, without confirming the reason why.

The country's Defence Ministry has cited China as being its "greatest strategic challenge" in a white paper released earlier this year, noting increased Chinese naval deployments on Japan's borders and ever-deepening ties with Russia.

It also highlighted a growing gap in military capabilities between China and Taiwan, which Beijing has long considered to be a rogue state it wants to bring back under Chinese control.