Japanese Defence Minister Tomomi Inada on Thursday threw “strong support” behind U.S. freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea and vowed to increase engagement in the disputed waters as part of efforts to maintain a rules-based maritime order being challenged by China.
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The state-run Global Times, known for its strident nationalist stance, blasted the speech in an editorial Saturday, calling any joint patrols of the contested waters the “gunboat diplomacy of the 21st century”.
The Washington trip, which included talks with Defense Secretary Ash Carter Thursday evening, was seen as an early test for Ms. Inada, who political observers in Tokyo could be emerging as a leading candidate to succeed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
For its part, Japan is also in a dispute with China over claims to territory in the East China Sea. The “Joint Sea 2016” drill will go ahead between September 12 and 19 in the South China Sea, off Guangdong.
Inada also confirmed that Japan will continue its efforts to increase the defense capabilities of other claimant states involved in the South China Sea disputes.
Japan will expand its presence in the contentious South China Sea by way of joint patrols and exercises with the USA and regional allies, Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada said here Thursday. Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, including small islands hundreds of kilometers from its southern coast and has sought to bolster its presence by building on islands and reefs.
Ambassador Cheng Yonghua, China’s envoy to Japan, reportedly told Japanese officials that Japanese participation in U.S. Navy-led FONOPs would cross a “red line”.
The exercise is part of an annual programme which “aims to consolidate and advance the Sino-Russian comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination, and deepen friendly and practical cooperation between the two militaries”, Chinese navy spokesman Liang Yang was quoted as saying.
They have also decided that China and Southeast Asian countries should jointly maintain peace and stability in that region.
It’s natural that the drill takes place in the South China Sea because the two countries have already held joint exercise in other Chinese waters including the country’s North Sea and East Sea region. Tokyo is now the most enthusiastic side in hyping up tension in the South China Sea.
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Inada criticized repeated intrusion by Chinese government ships into Japanese territorial waters around the islands as “infringement of our country’s sovereignty”, and said, “We can never accept” such unilateral actions.
