China's 'strong army' strategy heightens regional tension

By conducting large-scale land reclamation on reefs, China has been progressing toward the construction of military facilities around the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. Such moves, which only heighten regional tension, cannot be tolerated.

The white paper indirectly criticised the United States – which it did not name – by saying, “Some outside countries have also been meddling in South China Sea affairs; a tiny few have maintained constant close-in air and sea surveillance and reconnaissance against China.” This criticism is apparently aimed at fending off the monitoring of these artificially reclaimed islands by US patrol aircraft.

With an eye on such neighbouring countries as the Philippines, the white paper also states that “some of its offshore neighbours take provocative actions and reinforce their military presence on China’s reefs and islands that they have illegally occupied.”

Yet China has established nine national borders with no basis in international law, thereby claiming sovereignty over most of the South China Sea.

The paper also said the Chinese Navy would gradually shift its focus from “offshore waters defence” to a combination of “offshore waters defence” and “open seas protection”. It is highly likely that China will continuously operate its submarines and other vessels, even in the far western Pacific.

The paper further said, “Japan is sparing no effort to dodge the post-war mechanism, overhauling its military and security policies,” indicating its watchful eye on the security policy of prime minister Shinzo Abe’s administration and the strengthened Japan-US alliance.

Yet China should realise that it is the one defying the post-war regional order through its heavy-handed maritime advances.

It was quite reasonable for Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga to refute China’s assertion, stating that it was completely untrue to say that Japan – which has consistently followed the path of a pacifist nation, working for regional peace and stability – is breaking away from the post-war regime.

Amid efforts to pass security-related bills into law at an early date, Japan must enhance its deterrence on the basis of the new guidelines for bilateral defence cooperation recently agreed on with the United States.

It is also important for Japan, while cooperating with the United States and other countries concerned, to urge China to refrain from taking any perilously provocative actions that could accidentally lead to armed conflict.

The white paper did not respond to calls from neighbouring countries for Beijing to boost transparency regarding its military, about which it has remained obscure. Unlike the previous white paper, the latest contained no data on the number of its military personnel or other such information. This is extremely troubling.

China’s defence budget has increased to a level about 3.4 times greater than Japan’s, yet the actual state of the former’s nuclear capability and its naval and air force equipment has been extremely unclear.

We believe it is the responsibility of an economic and military power to make efforts to enhance its transparency on these matters and to build a relationship of trust with neighbouring countries.