Japan's access to maritime shipping lanes will be under serious threat if China is able to assert control over the entire South China Sea, according to a commentary by Yasu Ota, an editor of the Tokyo-based Nikkei published on Sept. 21.
Ota said that about a quarter of the 350 vessels that pass through the Strait of Malacca via Singapore every day belong to Japanese enterprises. The shipping lane extending from the Strait of Malacca through the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait is considered Japan's maritime lifeline, providing a shortcut for the country's enterprises to transport strategic supplies such as oil from the Middle East, according to the author.
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