Chinese Naval Fleet Completes Western Pacific Drill with Strategic Transit Near Japanese Islands

Chinese naval fleet returns through Japanese islands after Pacific drills, following a diplomatic clash over a Japanese destroyer in the Taiwan Strait.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 22, 2026, 3:09 PM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from the People's Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command and official government statements in Tokyo.

Return of Naval Formation 133 to East China Sea

The People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command confirmed on Wednesday that its vessel formation 133 has returned to its home base after finishing a high-seas training mission in the Western Pacific. The fleet, which includes at least one destroyer, utilized the waterway between the islands of Yonaguni and Iriomote in Okinawa Prefecture to complete its journey. This theater command maintains primary responsibility for operations in the East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, making the transit a significant demonstration of regional maritime reach.

Navigating International and Territorial Jurisdictions

While the Yonaguni-Iriomote Waterway is approximately 65 kilometers wide, it presents a complex jurisdictional landscape. International law allows non-Japanese vessels to transit the narrow central band of these waters; however, Japan maintains a 12-nautical-mile territorial sea boundary from its shorelines. Tokyo reserves the right to take formal action should any foreign military vessels stray from international channels into these sovereign waters, a boundary that has become a focal point of maritime monitoring.

The Tit-for-Tat Escalation in Vital Waterways

The return journey followed a similar outbound transit by the same PLA formation on Sunday. This sequence of maneuvers appears to be a direct response to a Japanese destroyer’s transit through the Taiwan Strait last Friday. Beijing characterized the Japanese movement as a display of force and a deliberate provocation. While Japan views the strait as international waters, China maintains that the deployment of military vessels there threatens its sovereignty and security.