The Chinese mainland's maritime safety authorities conducted an emergency search-and-rescue drill for the first time ever in shallow waters off the Taiwan island on Saturday.
Organized by the Fujian Maritime Safety Administration in collaboration with the Donghai Rescue Bureau, the drill was aimed at fully exercising China's maritime administrative law enforcement jurisdiction, enhancing the maritime traffic control capacity in the Taiwan Strait, maintaining the maritime navigation environment and order, ensuring waterborne traffic safety, and preventing ship pollution, according to the authorities.
The drill involved four vessels, including the "Haixun 06," the first large patrol and rescue vessel deployed in the Taiwan Straits, the professional rescue ship "Dong Hai Jiu 115," along with 104 personnel and three unmanned aerial vehicles.
The exercise simulated a transport vessel fire during which survivors were found drifting at sea. Participating units and vessels promptly reported the accident and activated the contingency plan, completing the tasks of crew self-rescue, traffic control, vessel firefighting, personnel search and rescue, and response lifting.
After the exercise, a formation of rescue vessels conducted law-enforcement operations in the central Strait, patrolling the shallow waters, areas with dense navigation, and accident-prone zones.
At 16:00 on the day, the law enforcement formation arrived at the outer sea of Meizhou Bay after successfully completing its scheduled tasks.
Chinese mainland authorities hold emergency drill for first time in shallow waters off Taiwan
Japanese scholars and officials, including former Prime Minster Yukio Hatoyama, on Sunday criticized Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's erroneous remarks regarding China's Taiwan region and expressed concerns over the deteriorated bilateral ties.
At a Diet meeting on Nov 7, Takaichi claimed that the Chinese mainland's "use of force on Taiwan" could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan and implied the possibility of armed intervention in the Taiwan Strait, which has immediately sparked strong criticism inside Japan.
The scholars voiced their concerns at an academic exchange meeting held by the International Academic Society for Asian Community (ISAC) in Tokyo, where over 100 representatives from Japanese political, academic, and economic circles held discussions on the current international situation and China-Japan relations.
In his keynote speech, Hatoyama said that Takaichi's erroneous remarks on Taiwan region fundamentally deviated from international law and the spirit of the 1972 China-Japan Joint Communique.
"According to the China-Japan Joint Communique, the Potsdam Declaration, and the Cairo Declaration, Japan further reaffirmed its position that Taiwan is Chinese territory. Therefore, the Taiwan question is China's internal affair. Furthermore, the China-Japan Joint Communique also established the principle of non-interference in China's internal affairs. But against this backdrop, however, Takaichi made the related remarks," he said.
Participants of the academic meeting said that Takaichi's erroneous remarks damaged the relations between China and Japan and should be retracted.
"As an academic organization dedicated to the study of peace and security in East Asia, we are deeply concerned about the sharp deterioration in Japan-China relations caused by Prime Minister Takaichi's remarks in the Diet, which related Taiwan question to a 'survival-threatening situation' for Japan," said Eiichi Shindo, ISAC president and a professor emeritus at the University of Tsukuba.
"After the war, Japan and China reached many political agreements, but now it is Japan that unilaterally violates these rules and agreements. This is highly problematic, and I feel very sorry about it. Japan-China relations are deteriorating on multiple levels, and obviously it is Japan that has caused such a situation. (Takaichi's) remarks definitely crossed the line, and I believe they should be retracted," said Akira Kimura, a professor emeritus at the Kagoshima University.
Following the event, Hatoyama told China Media Group (CMG) that he was deeply concerned that Takaichi's remarks had worsened China-Japan relations.
"Prime Minister Takaichi made remarks about Taiwan question, claiming it would constitute a 'survival-threatening situation' for Japan. In my view, this was less a rash statement and more a deliberate declaration, which is regrettable. I am deeply concerned that the situation will worsen if measures are not taken quickly. This has plunged Japan-China relations into a very serious situation. The Taiwan question is China's internal affair, and Japan should not interfere," said Hatoyama.
Former Japanese PM, scholars criticize Takaichi’s erroneous remarks
