ISLAMABAD: In a move that has heightened tensions in the East China Sea,China dispatched a formidable naval flotilla, including its advanced Type055 destroyer, to waters south of Japan on Tuesday, mere days after sharprebukes from Beijing over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s commentson Taiwan. Tokyo’s defence ministry reported the passage of three Chinesevessels through the Osumi Strait, a critical maritime chokepoint linkingthe East China Sea to the Pacific Ocean.
The lead ship, the 12,000-tonne destroyer Anshan, traversed the routeindependently before being joined by a Type 054A guided-missile frigate anda Type 903 replenishment oiler, underscoring Beijing’s capacity forsustained power projection far from its shores.
This incursion, the second such transit through southern Kyushu waters onthe same day, arrives against a backdrop of intensifying rhetoricalexchanges over Taiwan, the self-governing island that China claims as itsterritory. Prime Minister Takaichi’s recent assertion that Japan woulddefend Taiwan’s democratic institutions elicited a vehement response fromChinese state media, accusing Tokyo of meddling in core sovereignty issues.
Analysts view the naval deployment not merely as a routine exercise but asa calibrated demonstration of resolve, signaling to both Japan and Taiwanthat Beijing possesses the wherewithal to enforce its red lines throughsuperior maritime might.
The Type 055 Renhai-class destroyer represents the pinnacle of China’snaval modernization, boasting advanced phased-array radars, vertical launchsystems for over 100 missiles, and stealth features that rival or surpassthose of U.S. Arleigh Burke-class counterparts. With eight vesselsoperational since the class’s 2020 debut, China’s fleet endows it with adecisive edge in potential naval confrontations.
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In a hypothetical conflict scenario involving Japan and Taiwan, Beijing’sdestroyers could overwhelm Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force, whichfields fewer than 50 surface combatants, many aging and outgunned by Type055 armaments. Taiwan’s navy, comprising modest frigates and submarines,would fare even worse, lacking the blue-water capabilities to contestcarrier-killer missiles like the YJ-21 hypersonic weapon aboard theseships. Such asymmetry could enable rapid Chinese blockades or amphibiousassaults, complicating U.S. intervention timelines and exposing alliedvulnerabilities in the first island chain.
Source:www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/china-deploys-type-055-destroyer-near-japan-2025-11-18/”>https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/china-deploys-type-055-destroyer-near-japan-2025-11-18/
Source:www.janes.com/defence-news/naval/chinese-flotilla-transits-osumi-strait-amid-taiwan-tensions-2025″>https://www.janes.com/defence-news/naval/chinese-flotilla-transits-osumi-strait-amid-taiwan-tensions-2025