China calls passage of Japanese warship through Taiwan Strait a ‘provocation’

China said it monitored ​a Japanese warship’s transit in the Taiwan Strait on Friday (April 17, 2026), ‌calling the move “a deliberate provocation” as ​Beijing’s ties with Tokyo remain fraught.

Japanese ⁠destroyer JS Ikazuchi transited the Taiwan Strait from 4:02 a.m. (2002 GMT) to 5:50 p.m. (0950 GMT), and the Chinese ‌military’s naval and air forces tracked and monitored the vessel throughout the process, ‌a Chinese military spokesperson said in a ‌statement.