Masaki Kanai, Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is expected to meet with Liu Jinsong, Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 18th to discuss recent China-Japan relations. On the evening of the 17th, China’s Maritime Safety Administration issued a navigation warning, stating that from November 18th to 25th, from 8:00 to 18:00 each day, live-fire drills will be conducted in certain areas of the southern Yellow Sea, and entry is prohibited.
On the 15th of this month, China’s Maritime Safety Administration had issued a navigation warning stating that from November 17th to 19th, over three days, from 00:00 to 24:00 each day, live-fire drills will be conducted in certain areas of the central Yellow Sea, and entry is prohibited. Many observers see this live-fire drill as one of Beijing’s countermeasures in response to recent remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi regarding a "Taiwan emergency."
According to the coordinates of the live-fire shooting area announced by China’s Maritime Safety Administration, the newly added live-fire area starting today is located about 30 kilometers offshore northeast of Lianyungang, Jiangsu, in the coastal waters between Lianyungang, Jiangsu, and Rizhao, Shandong. It is about 870 kilometers from the nearest Japanese outlying island and about 900 to 1000 kilometers from Japan’s Kyushu main island.
The live-fire area from the 17th to the 19th is approximately 120 to 130 kilometers southeast offshore from Lianyungang, Jiangsu, about 800 kilometers from the nearest Japanese island, and about 900 kilometers from Japan’s Kyushu main island.