Russia, China ‘expanding and intensifying’ naval activity in waters around Japan
A Chinense navy frigate, hull number 599, top, and guided-missile destroyer, hull number 132, were among nine vessels spotted sailing near Japan and toward the Pacific Ocean between June 26 and 30, 2026. (Japan Ministry of Defense)
China exercised its ability to transit Japan’s stretch of the first island chain by sending 10 warships through its maritime passes in the past week.
Eight Chinese navy vessels were spotted heading toward the Pacific Ocean between the afternoon of June 26 and early Tuesday morning, according to multiple news releases from the Ministry of Defense.
The number of trips by Chinese and Russian ships through Japanese straits is not unusually high, but “their operations are certainly expanding and intensifying,” a Japan Joint Staff spokesman said by phone Wednesday.
Two Chinese destroyers, the Guiyang and Xining, sailed southwest Saturday morning and Sunday morning toward the East China Sea in waters northeast of Tsushima, an island about halfway between Kyushu and the Korean Peninsula.
Five Russian naval vessels also made trips through Japanese straits over the same time, but the Joint Staff spokesman said the trips by both countries, which sometimes operate in tandem, this time appeared coincidental.
“To the best of our knowledge, this did not involve any joint exercises,” he said.
A ministry report on China’s military activities around Japan updated in June states that Chinese military vessels are taking “more diverse routes” through the Nansei Islands, which include Okinawa, to reach the Pacific Ocean.
The report identifies five key transit routes through the first island chain: the Osumi Strait, the Yokoate waterway, the Miyako Strait and the maritime passages between the islands of Yonaguni and Iriomote and between Yonaguni and Taiwan.
It also identified important northern routes, such as the straits of Soya and Tsugaru.
Chinese vessels during the recent transits sailed through three of the five Nansei passages.
The frigate Anyang and the guided-missile destroyer Dongguan sailed the Miyako Strait on Friday and Tuesday, respectively.
The guided-missile destroyer Suzhou and the surveillance ship Tianshuxing passed between Amami Oshima and Yokoatejima on Friday and Monday. The Suzhou returned towards the East China Sea on Sunday.
The frigate Yancheng and the replenishment ship Dongpinghu transited the Osumi Strait, south of Kagoshima, between Saturday and Sunday. They were followed by the guided missile destroyers Nanchang and Xi’an on Sunday and Monday.
The ministry identified each ship by hull number. Stars and Stripes cross-referenced each number with information from the Chinese Ministry of National Defense to identify their names, except for the Tianshuxing, which was identified by the U.S. Naval Institute in report Oct. 25, 2024.
The Russian navy vessels were also spotted between Saturday morning and Monday morning in waters around Japan, from Hokkaido in the north to Kyushu in the south.
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force dispatched aircraft and ships to meet each ship, according to the ministry’s releases.
Some Japanese government officials may speak to the media on condition of anonymity.