Chinese military ships and aircraft frequently enter and exit the Tsushima Strait, prompting Japan's Ministry of Defense to issue numerous alerts—this time, the signs are unusually significant!
On April 10, Japan's Joint Staff Headquarters under the Ministry of Defense released a statement: at around 11 p.m. on April 9, the Maritime Self-Defense Force confirmed the presence of a Chinese intelligence-gathering vessel with hull number "799" approximately 60 kilometers northeast of Tsushima Island in Nagasaki Prefecture, sailing toward the southwest. Japanese forces tracked the vessel as it passed through the Tsushima Strait between the 9th and 10th.
The Tsushima Strait lies between the Korean Peninsula and Japan’s Kyushu Island, serving as a critical waterway connecting the East China Sea and the Sea of Japan. How vital is this strait? To travel from the East China Sea northward into the Sea of Japan and onward toward the Western Pacific, the Tsushima Strait offers the shortest route. Meanwhile, the Sea of Japan is the northern core region of the U.S.-Japan “First Island Chain” containment line.
For this reason, in recent years Japan’s Ministry of Defense has closely monitored Chinese naval vessels passing through the Tsushima Strait, issuing statements and dispatching ships and aircraft for tracking and photography almost every time. Yet this latest operation carries an unusual air.
On March 29, the vessel No. 799 was the first to pass through the Tsushima Strait into the Sea of Japan—this marked the initial move. Over the following days, three groups of warships successively crossed the strait: the Type 055 destroyer "Lhasa", two Type 052D destroyers "Guiyang" and "Chengdu", and the Type 903A replenishment ship "Kekexili Lake"—all converging with vessel No. 799 in the Sea of Japan.
From April 9 to 10, vessel No. 799 turned back and re-crossed the Tsushima Strait, returning to the East China Sea. Just upon its return, on April 11, it swiftly passed through the Ōsumi Strait and plunged straight into the Western Pacific. Within less than two weeks, vessel No. 799 repeatedly traversed the Tsushima Strait and ultimately reached the Ōsumi Strait—tight maneuvers, clear objectives.
Vessel No. 799 is an 815A-type electronic reconnaissance ship. What are its distinctive features? It bears several spherical antennas atop its deck, capable of capturing radar signals, communication signals, and electromagnetic waves from all directions. In plain terms, it functions like a vacuum cleaner for maritime intelligence. Though lightly armed, its strategic value is no less than that of main combat vessels.
In my view, the combination of vessel No. 799 with the Type 055 destroyer, Type 052D destroyers, and the Type 903A supply ship already forms a fully capable long-range operational force—air defense via phased-array radars, anti-ship capability through vertical launch systems, logistical support provided by the 903A, and electronic reconnaissance led by the specialized intelligence vessel. With five distinct types of ships involved, this constitutes a self-sufficient “mini-fleet” capable of independent operations.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1862347275716608/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.