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Japan has expanded its self-defense forces, adding state-of-the-art F-35 fighter jets and convert warships into aircraft carriers for them. It is also build new destroyers, submarines and missiles, while noting its military spending is still paltry compared to China’s increase in military spending.
“Against Chinese action against the Senkaku Islands and other parts of the East China Sea (…) we must demonstrate that the Japanese government is resolutely defending our territory with as many Japanese Coast Guard ships as possible. that of China, ”Kishi said. “There is no territorial dispute relating to the Senkaku Islands between Japan and other countries,” he added.
Tensions on the uninhabited rock range – 1,200 miles (1,900 kilometers) southwest of Tokyo but only a third of that distance from Shanghai – have simmered for years, and claims about them date back centuries.
When tensions rose on the islands in 2012, it sparked a wave of nationalist sentiment in China. Public protests erupted in dozens of Chinese cities, with smashed Japanese brand cars, Japanese shops and restaurants vandalized and debris thrown over the Japanese embassy in Beijing.
At the government level, China has been just as vehement as Kishi claims the chain of islands.
“Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islands are an integral part of Chinese territory, and it is our inherent right to conduct patrols and law enforcement activities in these waters,” Chinese Foreign Ministry said. in a press release last year.
According to Japanese authorities, Chinese Coast Guard ships ventured into Japanese territorial waters, or within 12 nautical miles of Japanese land, a total of 88 times between January 1 and the end of August. In the contiguous area, the waters between the islands but not less than 12 miles from the shore, there were 851 Chinese incursions.
Experts say China’s strategy is to deploy its forces in and around the disputed areas and exercise Beijing’s law and authority over them. Such action gives the impression that Chinese claims are due at the right time.
“The exercise of coastal states’ rights is an important step in substantiating sovereignty through practice,” said Alessio Patalano, professor of war and strategy at King’s College London.
Kishi took note of it.
“There are actions that continue to challenge an integral part of the sovereign territory of Japan. These actions make it a fait accompli,” he said.
This “integral” Japanese territory stretches even closer to another possible flashpoint in Japan-China relations.
The importance of Taiwan to Japan
Japan’s most westerly island sits at the very end of a chain of Japanese possessions parallel to the Chinese coast and extending some 700 miles (1,125 kilometers) south from the main island of Kyushu, passing through the military center of Okinawa and the resort island of Ishigaki, to the small island of Yonaguni.
With its 11 square miles of rock and a population of less than 2,000, Yonaguni is just 68 miles (110 kilometers) from Taiwan, the democratically ruled island over which Beijing claims sovereignty.
Taiwan and mainland China have been governed separately since a civil war ended more than seven decades ago.
However, Beijing continues to view Taiwan as an inseparable part of its territory even though the Chinese Communist Party has never ruled it.
China has stepped up military pressure on Taiwan. In June, he sent more than two dozen warplanes near the island, prompting Taiwan to alert its air defenses.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has said Taiwan must be brought under Beijing’s control and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve this.
This, Kishi said, puts Tokyo in a constant state of vigilance.
At the time, Kishi said he should be watched with “a sense of crisis”.
In his interview with CNN, he gave details.
“What is happening in Taiwan is directly linked to Japan,” he said, noting that the island straddles his country’s “energy lifeline”.
“90% of the energy used by Japan is imported through the regions around Taiwan,” Kishi said.
It is a vulnerability that Tokyo must mitigate.
“What could happen to Taiwan could probably be a problem for Japan, and in this case, Japan will have to provide the necessary response to this situation,” Kishi said, while stressing that the tension should be dissipated through dialogue and not by violence.
But Tokyo doesn’t just use words to back up its claims. It is also strengthening its military defenses, placing missiles and troops on Yonaguni, and plans to do the same near Ishigaki in the near future.
“This is to demonstrate our strong will to defend our southwest area of Japanese territory,” Kishi said.
In this regard, Tokyo has a key ally in its corner, the United States.
US President Joe Biden reaffirmed that security commitment soon after his inauguration in January, with a White House statement specifically mentioning the Senkaku.
Kishi said this week that the alliance was being strengthened and, commenting on Senkakus’ situation, said Washington was backing Tokyo.
“We will continue to conduct bilateral training with the United States and multilateral with other partners to strengthen our posture and contribute to the peace and stability of this region,” he said, noting that naval exercises were organized or programmed with partners including France, the United Kingdom and Germany.
While aligning partners, Japan is also improving its own arsenal, including developing and acquiring weapon systems capable of striking areas well beyond Japanese territory.
Without saying which areas these longer-range systems might target, Japan’s defense minister said it was important for the country’s military to have the right equipment to defend it against any threats.
CNN’s Eric Cheung, Emiko Jozuka and Junko Ogura contributed to this report.
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