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Japanese media's hype over Chinese warships 'circumnavigating Japan' an overreaction: expert

Global Times

By Liu Xuanzun and Liang Rui Published: Sep 02, 2025 06:12 PM

Japanese media on Tuesday hyped that Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy vessels had "circumnavigated" Japan. A Chinese military affairs expert slammed the report as an overreaction, stressing that the Chinese ships' voyage took place in open waters and should be viewed objectively and rationally.

The PLA Navy vessels have completed a near circumnavigation of the Japanese archipelago before returning to the East China Sea, Japan's Fuji News Network reported on Tuesday.

Citing the Japanese Defense Ministry, the report claimed that a PLA Navy guided missile destroyer and a replenishment ship sailed between Okinawa's main island and Miyako Island on August 31, heading toward the East China Sea. The two ships had previously passed through the Tsushima Strait on July 24 and the Soya Strait on August 8, "effectively completing a circumnavigation of Japan via the Pacific Ocean."

When transiting the Soya Strait, the Chinese and Russian vessels sailed together, and the Japanese Defense Ministry believes that the two countries' navies conducted a joint patrol in the Pacific.

China and Russia conducted the Joint Sea-2025 joint exercise in waters and airspace near Vladivostok, Russia from August 1 to 5. After the exercise, the PLA Navy guided missile destroyer Shaoxing, comprehensive replenishment ship Qiandaohu and Russia's large anti-submarine ship Admiral Tributs, along with two shipborne helicopters, formed a joint task force and carried out a joint maritime patrol in the Western Pacific, the Xinhua News Agency reported at the time.

The joint maritime patrol concluded on August 20 with a departure ceremony held in the Western Pacific, Xinhua reported.

Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the China-Russia joint maritime patrol aims to safeguard peace and stability in the Western Pacific.

Japanese media is overreacting, Fu said, stressing that the joint patrol took place in open waters, and Japan should view this matter objectively and rationally.

In response to reports that some countries kept dispatching aircraft and ships to the vicinity of Chinese and Russian task forces during Exercise Joint Sea 2025, and some analysts claimed that this joint exercise was clearly targeted at third parties, Jiang Bin, a Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson, said on August 8 that Exercise Joint Sea is an institutionalized cooperation program between the Chinese and Russian navies. Since its inception in 2012, the exercise has been held 10 times and has become a key platform for China-Russia military cooperation. Task groups from the two sides have completed planned subjects, including joint air defense, counter-sea and anti-submarine operations, and have transitioned to a joint maritime patrol.

China and Russia adhere to the principles of non-alliance, non-confrontation, and not targeting any third party in developing bilateral and military relations, and jointly play an important role in safeguarding international and regional peace and stability, Jiang said. "We hope relevant parties will view defense cooperation between China and Russia objectively and rationally, and stop spreading groundless speculation and smears," the spokesperson said.