China Promotes Officer Who Oversaw Incursions Into Japanese Waters, Gives Him Charge Of Taiwan Strait

China has reportedly rewarded the Coast Guard chief, who conducted incursions into the Japanese waters near Senkaku Islands, by giving him charge of the Taiwan Strait.

The officer, identified as Wang Zhongcai, will now be the naval commander overseeing the East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.

Wang attended a meeting with locals in the Zhejiang province city of Ningbo in late July as commander of the People's Liberation Army Navy's Eastern Theater Command, reported Tokyo-based Nikkei Asia, quoting Chinese media.

During Wang's tenure as the Coast Guard chief, Japan witnessed multiple events of Chinese ships breaching into its territory near the disputed Senkaku Islands. Though administered by Japan, China claims rights over these uninhabited chain of islands called Diaoyu. The report added Wang's promotion could mean more military pressure on Taiwan and Japan.

Besides Wang, Mei Wen, who served as a political commissar on China's first aircraft carrier Liaoning, was also named the political commissioner of the PLA Navy's Eastern Theater Command. This will give him the power to authorize operations.

"China has decided to deploy top talent to the areas facing the most intense tensions," said Yasuyuki Sugiura, a senior researcher at Japan's National Institute for Defense Studies, told Nikkei Asia. "They may be looking at operating an aircraft carrier around Taiwan."

Wang's promotion comes as more Chinese vessels continue to intrude into Japanese territorial waters.

Last week, four Chinese Coast Guard ships intruded into Japan's territorial waters off the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture, according to Japanese Coast Guard officials. The redeployment of officials also holds significance, since China has increased military posturing around Taiwan following the visit of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Wang, who has a background in the PLA Navy, was made the chief of Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) in June 2018, soon after the CCG was put under the command of the military-administered People's Armed Police (PAP). Of China's three main armed forces, the PAP is very similar to the PLA in management. It also has heavy weapons like artillery.

CCG also saw a major upgrade in 2021, when China passed a new maritime law that allowed the service branch to fire on foreign vessels intruding into Chinese waters without permission. According to Nikkei Asia, Wang's appointment hints at Beijing's plans to integrate the Coast Guard with the PLA Navy.