A group of disputed islands, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, in the East China Sea. Photo: REUTERS/Kyodo/File Photo
Defense Ministry white paper says Beijing’s actions in South China Sea are ‘highhanded
TOKYO—Japan criticized China’s maritime ambitions in East Asia, saying Japanese aircraft were scrambling more often in response to China’s activities, and expressed alarm over North Korean progress in miniaturizing nuclear weapons.
The assessments, contained in Japan’s annual defense white paper, came during rising tensions in the South China Sea, where China has been building up military facilities, and continuing disagreement over islands in the East China Sea that are held by Tokyo and claimed by Beijing.
The paper from Japan’s Defense Ministry describes China’s actions in the disputed waters as “highhanded” and says Beijing is “making steady efforts to turn these coercive changes to the status quo into a fait accompli.”
China’s Defense Ministry said the Japanese document was “filled with hostilities to the Chinese military,” according to the state news agency Xinhua.
The paper “distorts China’s justified and reasonable defense construction” and heightens regional tensions, ministry spokesman Wu Qian was quoted as saying. “It stirs up trouble between China and its neighbors, and deceives the international community, “ he said, adding that the military had made its concerns known to Japan.
Xinhua also slammed a security law passed last year that permits Japanese troops to work more closely with allies in conflicts outside its territory.
“For a country which is reluctant to face up to its ignominious wartime history squarely, its attempts to beef up military power will pose a serious threat to world peace,” Xinhua said. “The real purpose of the document is to tarnish China’s image.”
The white paper also expressed concern about North Korea’s nuclear and missile ambitions, including that nation’s nuclear test in January.
North Korea may have “achieved the miniaturization of nuclear weapons” and recent launch tests suggest it has made progress in its ballistic missile program, the paper said.
U.S. military officials also believe that North Korea has made progress in its nuclear-weapons program, including possibly making a nuclear bomb small enough to mount on a long-range missile that could threaten the U.S. and its allies.
Pyongyang claims that it has mastered the technology but it is extremely difficult for outsiders to definitively gauge progress.
At 484 pages, this year’s defense paper is 60 pages thicker than last year’s.
The ministry said that was partly because of “various incidents that took place around Japan.”
In one event in June, a Chinese frigate entered a contiguous zone around the disputed East China Sea islands, just outside their territorial waters, the paper said. Other Chinese ships have entered the contiguous zone, but it was unusual for a warship to do so. The islands are known as the Senkakus in Japanese and Diaoyu islands in China.
Chinese military aircraft are expanding their activities closer to those islands, the white paper said.
In the year ended March 31, Japanese jet fighters scrambled 873 times, of which 571 times involved Chinese aircraft, up from 464 China-related scrambles the previous year, it said.
The white paper set aside a new chapter to discuss the new security law, which Prime Minister Shinzo Abe characterized as a response to rising instability in the region including China’s moves. The paper said it carried “historical significance.”
—Te-Ping Chen in Beijing and Alastair Gale in Seoul contributed to this article.
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