Perouse Strait

中国海軍の艦艇５隻とロシア海軍の艦艇１６隻が北海道と樺太の間の宗谷海峡を通過しましたが、中国艦艇の同海峡通過が確認されたのは初めてだったとのこと。

Chinese flotilla passes through Perouse Strait

A Chinese naval flotilla has passed through the Perouse Strait between Hokkaido and Sakhalin for the first time.

Japan's Defense Ministry says the Maritime Self-Defense Force confirmed the passage before dawn on Sunday.

The ministry says the 5 Chinese vessels navigated through the strait from the Sea of Japan to the Sea of Okhotsk. It says the vessels did not enter Japanese territorial waters.

The ministry added that the 5 vessels entered the Sea of Japan through Tsushima Strait on July 2nd and had taken part in a joint drill with Russian forces off Vladivostok in the Russian Far East that ended on Friday.

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20130714_16.html

宗谷海峡はthe Perouse Straitと表現されていました。世界史でフランス人探検家が発見したという記憶がかすかにありましたが、気になりましたのでブリタニカ（電子版）を引いておきました。（Jakie）

La Perouse Strait, Russian Proliv Laperuza, Japanese Sōya-kaikyō, 

International waterway between the islands of Sakhalin (Russia) and Hokkaido (Japan). The strait, named after the French explorer Jean-François de Galaup, Count de La Pérouse, separates the Sea of Okhotsk from the Sea of Japan. It is 27 miles (43 km) wide at its narrowest part, between Cape Krilon (Sakhalin) and Cape Sōya (Hokkaido) and varies in depth from 167 to 387 feet (51 to 118 m). The strait is characterized by extremely strong marine currents. It is closed by ice in the winter.

http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/326452/La-Perouse-Strait