By Franz-Stefan Gady
Tokyo’s 2015 defense white paper highlights concerns over Beijing’s maritime ambitions in Asia.
Today, the cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe approved the 2015 defense white paper compiled by the Ministry of Defense entitled “Defense of Japan 2015.” The approval came after a week-long delay due the Liberal Democratic Party’s demand for the document to name additional examples of China’s “one-sided” maritime actions, such as the construction of an offshore gas platform in the East China Sea.
China’s naval ambitions and its overall maritime activities remain Japan’s top national security concern. Beijing’s activities take up a third of a section in the 429-page white paper discussing Tokyo’s security concerns and trends. ”China, particularly over maritime issues, continues to act in an assertive manner, including coercive attempts at changing the status quo, and is poised to fulfill its unilateral demands without compromise,” the report states.
In particular the paper discusses Chinese actions in the East and South China Seas warning that Beijing’s activities “could trigger contingencies.” For example, China has been building an offshore gas platform in the East China Sea since June 2013, despite both sides unable to agree on a maritime boundary between their two exclusive economic zones. “Our country has repeatedly lodged protests with China’s unilateral development and urged it to stop the construction work,” the white paper notes.
Also, the publication stresses that “activities by Chinese naval and air force aircraft, which apparently gather information about our country, have been observed frequently.” Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force had to make 464 flights in 2014 (an increase of 49 flights in comparison to 2013) to identify or intercept Chinese military aircraft close to Japanese airspace. Furthermore, the paper highlights that China is “routinely” dispatching vessels around the waters of the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands.
Read the full story at The Diplomat