China Says Japan Stirs ‘Trouble’ with Vessel in Taiwan Strait

China said the presence of a Japanese Self-Defense Forces vessel in the Taiwan Strait is provocative, in a sign that ties between Asia’s two largest economies continue to be strained.

“Japan’s dispatch of a SDF vessel into the Taiwan Strait to flex its military muscle and deliberately provoke trouble is compounding its mistakes,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a regular press briefing Friday. “The Chinese military has handled it in accordance with law.”