The Chinese Navy’s 12-day military exercise around the Japanese archipelago ahead of the G-7 summit in Hiroshima, likely in reaction to Japan’s warming relations with Taiwan, has caused a strong reaction from the Japanese populace.
From April 30 to May 12, five Chinese warships circled the Japanese archipelago and surrounded the Sendo Islands in Okinawa prefecture.
Japan’s Ministry of Defense announced on May 17 that five Chinese naval vessels, which had been sailing clockwise around the Japanese archipelago since late April, split in two and surrounded the Sendo Islands in Okinawa prefecture while staying outside Japan’s territorial waters. This was the first time a Chinese vessel had made such a move. According to the analysis by Japan’s Ministry of Defense, the move was intended to show off the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) military force….