Japan Fires Missiles in Military Exercise, China Furious!
Japan’s military fired missiles that sank an old warship in waters between the Philippines and Taiwan. This was part of a large-scale military exercise involving US forces. The Chinese government has reacted strongly to this development.
The launch of two Type-88 surface-to-ship missiles on Wednesday local time was part of exercises in the Philippines involving US, Australian, Philippine, and Japanese forces, as well as contingents from France, New Zealand, and Canada.
According to AFP news agency on Thursday (7/5/2026), Japan’s and the Philippines’ defence ministers observed the launch in Ilocos Norte province in the north, about 400 kilometres (250 miles) from Taiwan, said an AFP reporter at the scene.
Officials said the two projectiles fired hit the target, a decommissioned Philippine navy ship, about 75 kilometres off the coast in the South China Sea, causing it to sink a few minutes later.
On Wednesday, Beijing condemned the missile test, calling it “another example of the push by Japan’s right-wing forces to accelerate Japan’s remilitarisation.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said during a regular briefing that “Japan, as an aggressor, has not only failed to deeply reflect on its historical crimes but has even sent military forces abroad and fired offensive missiles under the pretext of security cooperation.”
The 19-day Balikatan exercise, meaning “shoulder-to-shoulder” and ending on Friday, involved around 17,000 military personnel, including Japanese combat forces for the first time.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has accelerated Japan’s shift towards a more aggressive defence policy.
In recent years, Japan has sought to acquire “counterstrike” capabilities while increasing military spending and deepening security cooperation with regional allies, including the Philippines.
Last month, the Takaichi government relaxed self-imposed rules to allow exports of lethal military hardware, aiming to capture a share of the rapidly growing global market.
Last year, Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries won a significant order from the Australian navy – to supply 11 warships.
Chilly relations between China and Japan have deteriorated after Takaichi, seen as a hardline conservative and security hawk, stated that Japan might intervene militarily in any Chinese attempt to seize Taiwan.
China, which regards the democratic island as part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to annex it, was furious over the comments. Beijing has called on its citizens to avoid Japan and imposed trade restrictions.