The Maritime Self-Defense Force's destroyer Akizuki passed through the Taiwan Strait in early February, government officials have said, in an apparent move to counter China's increasingly aggressive behavior in the East and South China Seas.
It was just the second time that an MSDF vessel had passed through the waters separating Taiwan from mainland China, after the destroyer Sazanami joined ships from Australia and New Zealand in September.
In the February passage, however, the Akizuki sailed alone.
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