中国最大駆逐艦を初確認　領海侵入なし、対馬海峡北上―防衛省

　防衛省は１９日、中国海軍のレンハイ級ミサイル駆逐艦１隻を含む計３隻が１８日午前、対馬の南西海域を北東に進んでいるのを確認したと発表した。レンハイ級は中国の駆逐艦では最大規模で、海自が確認するのは初めて。領海への侵入はなかった。
　２０２０年版の防衛白書によると、レンハイ級は２０年１月に１番艦が就役。１１２基の垂直発射装置（ＶＬＳ）を搭載し、長射程の対地巡航ミサイルなどを発射できるとされる。
　同省統合幕僚監部によると、３隻は１８日午前１１時ごろ、対馬の南西約２５０キロの海域を北東に進み、１９日にかけ対馬海峡を北上して日本海に向かった。海自のＰ１哨戒機などが確認した。（2021/03/19-21:50）

Japan's Defense Ministry said Friday that three Chinese navy ships, including a Renhai-class missile destroyer, have been spotted sailing near Tsushima, an island in Nagasaki Prefecture, southwestern Japan.
   The three warships did not intrude into Japanese territorial waters, according to the ministry. Renhai is one of the largest destroyer classes in China.
   The ministry's Joint Staff said that a P-1 patrol aircraft of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force and two MSDF ships found the three Chinese warships traveling northeast at a point some 250 kilometers southwest of Tsushima around 11 a.m. Thursday (2 a.m. GMT). It was the first time for the MSDF to spot a Renhai-class destroyer.
   Toward Friday, the Chinese vessels sailed north in the Tsushima Strait, which lies between Kyushu, one of Japan's four main islands, which includes Nagasaki, and the Korean Peninsula, and headed for the Sea of Japan, the Joint Staff said.
   According to the ministry's 2020 defense white paper, the first of the Renhai-class destroyers was commissioned in January last year, and it is believed that a Renhai ship is equipped with 112 missile vertical launch cells and capable of launching long-range anti-surface cruise missiles.