BEIJING, April 17 -- "The Chinese PLA Eastern Theater Command deployed navy and air force troops to track, monitor and take effective control measures against the Japanese destroyer JS Ikazuchi, which transited the Taiwan Strait on April 17. China has lodged a solemn representation and strong protest with Japan," said Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense (MND), on Friday.

The defense spokesperson said that this move by Japan is a deliberate provocation and compounds the error. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made erroneous remarks on Taiwan and has not shown any sign of repentance to this day. Now the Japanese Self-Defense Force vessel is stirring up trouble in the Taiwan Strait, sending a wrong signal to "Taiwan independence" separatist forces. This will only arouse greater righteous indignation among the Chinese people and further strengthen their resolve to counter Japan's reckless provocations.

"We urge the Japanese side to mend its ways and abide by the one-China principle and the spirit of the four political documents between China and Japan, and refrain from straying further down the wrong path," said the spokesperson, adding that the Chinese military remains on high alert and will resolutely thwart all attempts of external interference to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.