Japan’s defence ministry has admitted that one of its submarines took part in naval exercises in the South China Sea last week, the first time the government has publicly said that one of its vessels had acted in such an event, amid growing signs of China’s military build-up in the contested waters.
The exercise involved the submarine Kuroshio and three warships en route to visit Vietnamese naval forces, according to the ministry yesterday.
China began building military installations on artificial islands in the area last year, aerial footage from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a US think-tank, shows. Beijing says the developments are defensive.
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