Here is my latest story for Jane's Defence Weekly published on September 10.
Japanese White Paper highlights concerns over China's maritime activities
Kosuke Takahashi JDW Correspondent
Tokyo
China's intensifying maritime activities in the sea around Japan and the lack of transparency of its national defence policies are a matter of concern for the region and the international community, Japan's new defence White Paper has cautioned.
The 2010 White Paper, released by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on 10 September, said that China does not disclose a clear, specific future vision of its military modernisation and that it has been intensifying its maritime activities, including those in waters near Japan. The paper also noted Japan required prudent analysis on current developments in the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA).
The White Paper - which Japan releases annually to take account of any changes in the defence and security environment - included the PLA Navy's activities in the sea off Japan, particularly those of the past two years. It cited a series of incidents that have occurred since 2004, involving Chinese flotillas that have sailed through the Miyako Strait near Okinawa and voyaged to waters near Okinotorishima in the Pacific Ocean, thus intruding into Japan's exclusive economic zone.
The paper said those flotillas were each comprised of between two and 10 vessels, centred on a Luzhou-class guidedmissile destroyer - a vessel armed with an advanced air-defence system - or a Russian-built Sovremenny-class guidedmissile destroyer and/or a 'Kilo'-class diesel-electric-powered submarine. It also cited the incident of a Chinese Hanclass nuclear submarine that intruded into Japanese territorial waters in November 2004.
In a move to counter China's growing naval presence, the paper highlighted Japan's ongoing security efforts in the Nansei Islands - an island chain stretching southwestward from the Japanese island of Kyushu to Taiwan - noting that, on the basis of the security environment surrounding Japan, the MoD is reviewing how to defend the islands by taking into account the deployment of new corps.
North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles were another area of focus. The paper said that North Korea's nuclear tests, along with the build-up of ballistic missile capabilities that could become a delivery system for weapons of mass destruction, would never be acceptable. The tests posed a grave threat to the security of Japan and seriously damaged the peace and stability of Northeast Asia as well as the international community, it stated.
MoD press secretary Satoshi Maeda told reporters ahead of the formal release of the paper on 9 September that countries such as the US and India are also concerned about the lack of transparency of China's national defence
policies and increasing naval activities, including those in waters near Japan.
Asked about Japan's original efforts to demand transparency in China's strengthening of military power, Maeda said: "We have been promoting mutual understanding between Japan and China through security dialogues and defence exchanges in recent years. The promotion of mutual understanding is very important."
Copyright © IHS Global Limited, 2010
