China warns Japan over joint patrols with US in South China Sea

China has reportedly warned Japan not to join US freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea and has even hinted at military action.

China warns Japan against joint patrols with the US in the South China Sea. Illustration photo: US Navy.

Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cheng Yonghua warned a senior Japanese official in late June that Tokyo would be “crossing a red line” if it allowed Japan Self-Defense Force (SDF) vessels to participate in so-called freedom of navigation operations to exclude Beijing in the South China Sea, the Japan Times reported on August 20, citing diplomatic sources.

Mr. Trinh said China "will not compromise on sovereignty issues and is not afraid of military provocations".

Japanese officials said Tokyo has no plans to join US freedom of navigation operations but strongly criticized China's illegal construction of outposts in the South China Sea for military purposes.

Trinh’s warning was aimed at preventing Tokyo from interfering in the dispute in the East Sea. It was issued shortly before the Arbitration Court in The Hague, Netherlands, on July 12 rejected the absurd “cow tongue line” that China drew to claim sovereignty over almost the entire East Sea.

China is expected to continue warning Japan. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is likely to meet his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida during a series of trilateral ministerial meetings between Japan, China and South Korea in Tokyo in late August.

In October 2015, the US began sending warships to patrol near the artificial islands that China illegally built in the East Sea to protect freedom of navigation. Japan has no plans to join this campaign but has left open the possibility of sending SDF ships to protect US ships.

Japanese officials say they can dispatch SDF ships as long as the missions contribute to national defense and do not violate restrictions set out in the constitution.

According to VNE