TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Japanese government confirmed on Saturday that the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Akizuki-class destroyer Akizuki made a solo transit through the Taiwan Strait early last month.

The destroyer passed through the strait after participating in a joint military exercise with the US, Australia, and the Philippines in the South China Sea on Feb. 5, Kyodo News reported. This marks the first time a Japanese military vessel has transited the Taiwan Strait alone.

The multilateral naval exercise, conducted within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone, aimed to enhance cooperation and interoperability among regional partners, according to a US Indo-Pacific Command press release. The US described the drills as part of “a collective commitment to strengthening regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

Japan’s first recorded Taiwan Strait passage occurred in September when the Takanami-class destroyer Sazanami sailed through the strait alongside Australian and New Zealand military ships.

Japan reaffirmed its stance on the Taiwan Strait’s strategic importance in a joint statement with the US on Feb. 7. It later reiterated that regional peace is “an indispensable element of security and prosperity for the international community” in a joint statement with the US and South Korea at the Munich Security Forum on Feb. 15.

Multiple Japanese politicians and officials, including the late former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, have stated that “a Taiwan emergency is also a Japanese emergency.”