Kuwait city: Japan expressed strong concern about China's military activities, calling them "an unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge" that Japan should respond to, according to an annual defense white paper released on Tuesday. "China has been intensifying its activities across the entire region surrounding Japan, including the East China Sea, the Sea of Japan, and the western Pacific Ocean," the Defense Ministry said in the white paper.
According to Kuwait News Agency, the ministry also pointed out China's intensified military activities around Taiwan, noting that China conducted military exercises in the sea and airspace several times. "It is believed that through the series of activities, China seeks to create a fait accompli where the People's Liberation Army is operating, and improve its actual combat capabilities," it said. In the event of a blockade of Taiwan, there is a possibility that China will deploy its coast guard at the forefront to carry out the blockade within gray-zone military activities, the document warned.
In addition, the ministry expressed concern over increasing military cooperation between China and Russia, such as their joint bomber flights and naval navigations in the vicinity of Japan. "These repeated joint activities are clearly intended for demonstration of force against Japan and are a grave concern from the perspective of the national security of Japan," it said.
As for North Korea, the paper stressed that its military activities are posing an even more grave and imminent threat to Japan's security than ever before. The North is focusing on qualitatively improving its nuclear and missile capabilities, such as diversifying its equipment systems and acquiring intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance means that complement its nuclear and missile operational capabilities, it said.