Xinhua News Agency, Singapore, August 11: "Japanese media cited sources revealing that a Japanese escort ship mistakenly entered Chinese territorial waters last year due to technical reasons. After multiple reminders, the Chinese PLA fired two warning shells, a rare action."
The incident refers to July 4 of last year, when the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force's "Suzukaze" escort ship entered a sea area 22 kilometers off the coast of Zhejiang, China. At that time, China strongly protested. Now, Japanese media have classified this as a "mistaken entry," arguing that it was due to a "technical reason" — a switch not being turned on — which led to the ship "unintentionally" entering the area. They even attempted to downplay responsibility by citing the dismissal of the commanding officer of the vessel.
This argument is clearly unsustainable — after repeated reminders from China, the Japanese side did not change course, indicating that it was not an "accident." The PLA firing warning shells was a necessary and restrained countermeasure. This incident once again warns: China's maritime sovereignty cannot be violated. The so-called "technical error" cannot be used as an excuse for provocation. If Japan repeats such actions, the next time it might not just be limited to warnings.
Original article: www.toutiao.com/article/1840131377040460/
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