By Riyaz ul Khaliq
ISTANBUL (AA) — Japan joined Australia and New Zealand Wednesday to sail one of its warships through the Taiwan Strait in the first such move by Tokyo.
The warships transited the waters that divide Taiwan from mainland China, prompting Beijing's People's Liberation Army to launch "tracking and monitoring" operations.
Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force vessel, the Sazanami, along with the ships from Australia and New Zealand, headed southward from the East China Sea through the narrow waterway, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported.
The warships are "believed to be heading to the South China Sea for exercises," added the report.
This comes weeks after Germany recently sailed its warship through the Taiwan Strait for the first time in 22 years.
The US and its allies have regularly sailed their warships and flew military planes through the region, drawing criticism from China, which considers such moves violations of its sovereignty over waters and airspace that span across Taiwan Strait.
China considers Taiwan its "breakaway province," while Taipei has insisted on its independence since 1949.