Is tracked by Japan and Taiwan

Is a new alliance forming?

Welcome to China Uncensored, I'm Chris Chappell.

This episode has been sponsored  by Surfshark—because you should  

be protecting your identity whenever you  go online by using a VPN like Surfshark.

The Chinese Communist Party is engaged  in territorial disputes with basically  

all of its neighbors. The  problem for China is, sometimes,  

when you bully people too much, they  eventually start to team up. Against you.

And that may be what's  happening with Taiwan and Japan.

It seems like Taiwan and Japan  teamed up to track a Chinese warship.

Both sides are being pretty quiet  about it, but here's what we know.

According to a Japanese Defense Ministry  announcement, a Chinese warship, the Binzhou,  

was caught in the East China Sea. That's where  China and Japan have a territorial dispute  

over some uninhabited islands. It sailed  through what's called the Miyako Strait.

The Binzhou sailed through the narrow  waters between Taiwan and Japan's  

Westernmost inhabited island, Yonaguni.  That's only 70 miles from Taiwan's coast.

Three Japanese ships tracked it. But on  May 1, this satellite image was released.  

It shows that a Taiwanese warship was  also there, tracking the Chinese ship.

“Taipei's Apple Daily described it as  the first joint surveillance operation  

between Taiwan and Japan.”

However, Taiwan's defense ministry didn't  confirm that. It just said they track any  

Chinese warship sailing through designated  areas. And remember, it was close to Taiwan.

A Taiwan defense official said, the  Binzhou's “crew was likely on a training and  

intelligence-gathering mission,” and “'did not  pose a serious threat' to Taiwan's security.'”

I mean, not a serious threat, other than  the fact China has promised to conquer  

Taiwan. Which is what all China's training  and intelligence-gathering missions are for.

And China's People's Liberation  Army didn't stop there.

While the Binzhou warship was sailing between  Taiwan and Japan, five Chinese fighter jets  

flew into Taiwan's air defense identification  zone—this time between Taiwan and the Philippines.

“According to Taipei's Defense Ministry,  

a Chinese Y-8 anti-submarine warfare  aircraft crossed the Bashi Channel.”

The Bashi Channel the Chinese aircraft flew over,  and the Miyako Strait the Binzhou sailed through,  

are both very important strategic locations.

They're among the few waterways the Chinese  military has of exiting the first island chain.  

They can be used to give or cut off access  between the South China Sea and the Pacific.

In other words, these are territorial  waters the Chinese Communist Party  

must take in order to secure a grip on the  region. So the Communist Party is being  

very clear about its long-term goals. Which are  obviously concerning to both Japan and Taiwan.

And while the two countries don't  have official diplomatic relations,  

there are signs that ties are warming.

Yes, despite Japan having  occupied Taiwan for 50 years,  

they can still be friends. And  for that, you can thank China.

And this episode is sponsored by Surfshark.

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So I recommend you use Surfshark  to protect yourself online.

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Once again, I'm Chris Chappell. See you next time.