Seoul, Korea
CNN
–
Japan has faced the toughest security environment since World War II, as three potential enemies – China, Russia and North Korea – have been strengthening military operations in the region, the defense minister said Tuesday.
“The existing global peace order is seriously challenged and Japan has found itself in the most serious and complicated security environment since the war,” Defense Minister Nakatani said in an introduction to the ministry’s annual defense whitepaper.
China’s military operations present Japan with “the biggest unprecedented strategic challenge,” the report says.
While Beijing is “intensifying its military capabilities in a qualitative and quantitative way,” Nakatani said it is “intensifying” regional activities, saying that the East China chain Senkaku Islands, particularly Tokyo-controlled, but Beijing claims it is being argued by Diayo.
The 34-page document provides disastrous prospects for the future of the region, particularly regarding the conflict between Tokyo’s most important ally, China and the US.
“The global balance of power has changed dramatically, and competition between states continues. Interstate competition between the US and China in particular is likely to be further strengthened in the future,” the white paper states.
The paper states that escalating Chinese military activities around the democratically controlled island of Taiwan poses a threat.
“China is about to create a fait compri run by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and improves actual combat capabilities,” he said.
The South China Sea quotes a similar situation, saying that there are legal concerns in Japan as Tokyo has major ocean lanes running through the waterways.
China’s Ministry of Defense spokesman Jiang Bin said on Wednesday that Japan is “exposing the “Chinese threat” and severely interfering with China’s internal affairs.”
“The Japanese side is creating false narratives to find excuses to ease military constraints,” Jiang said, referring to Japan’s strict postwar constitution, saying that the military is limiting itself to self-defense.
And Japan’s call to World War II has been controversial in areas that rift through Tokyo’s devastating militarism during periods of sour relations with many neighbors to this day.
“We urge the Japanese side to learn more from history and to stop China from crying out and blame it,” Jiang said.
However, Japanese papers did not focus on Beijing’s unilateral actions.
Russia and North Korea
As part of its expanded activities, the PLA is increasing cooperation with Russian troops, including joint bombers and naval patrols near Japan, the paper says.
“These repeated joint activities aim to demonstrate their strength against Japan,” he said.
The report states that in the past fiscal year, Japanese fighter jets have scrambled 704 times, including 464 times in response to Chinese approaches to aircraft and 237 times in Russian aircraft.
Russia’s three and a half year old invasion of Ukraine is bothering Japan, particularly due to its status as an important US ally, along with the accumulation of Russian troops that accompanied it, the report says.
“The security of Europe and the Indo-Pacific is inseparable,” he said, warning that wars like Ukraine are possible in the region.
The report says some of Russia’s latest military hardware has been deployed in the Pacific Ocean.
Moscow added troops, missiles and fighter jets to the islands in northern Japan that the Soviet Union adopted towards the end of World War II, but says Japan is now sovereignty illegally occupied by Russia.
Meanwhile, North Korea is developing and delivering nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles further, the report said.
Pyongyang’s ballistic missiles, which are believed to be capable of carrying nuclear warheads, say they can cover the entire Japanese archipelago.
“North Korea’s military operations pose even more serious and imminent threats to Japan’s security than ever before,” the paper says.
The Japanese newspaper reiterated many of the concerns of US military Indo-Pacific Commander Samuel Paparo, who spoke out in an stance paper in April.
“China continues to pursue unprecedented military modernization and increasingly aggressive behavior that threatens our US homeland, our allies and our partners,” Paparo said.
The US commander also said deepening cooperation between China, Russia and North Korea is pose an increasingly threat to the Pacific.
“Together, the growing connections of these countries create complex, interconnected challenges to the national security of the United States and regional stability,” Paparo said.
Joyce Jiang from CNN contributed to this report.
