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DW
4 days ago
- Business
- DW
Japan decries China threat after string of risky encounters – DW – 07/16/2025
Japan's defense officials have warned China's intensifying military activities could "seriously impact" its security, while also using their annual white paper to highlight the growing alliance of North Korea and Russia. The Japanese government called out China as posing "an unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge" for Tokyo and its allies, using a notably sharper language than usual in its latest defense white paper. The annual document focuses on the current threats Japan is facing and the country's defense efforts. According to the 2025 paper, Beijing is expanding the areas in which it operates and becoming increasingly assertive. "International society is in a new crisis era and faces the biggest challenges since the end of World War II," Japanese officials said in the report issued this week, adding that China's "intensified military activities" are likely to continue and could "seriously impact Japan's security, which is a cause of grave concern." The document also highlighted the growing offensive capabilities of North Korea and its deepening security and economic alliance with Russia. "Russia has also been observed engaging in joint activities with China involving aircraft and vessels," according to Defense Minister Gen Nakatani. Analysts say the wording of this year's white paper reflects a string of military incidents in the last 12 months. "In the last year, there has been a lot more activity involving China, North Korea and Russia so it is no surprise that Japan is expressing its concerns more explicitly," said Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi, an associate professor at Tokyo International University's Institute for International Strategy. He added that the security environment was "constantly changing." These changes are also illustrated by increasingly frequent confrontations between Chinese and Japanese troops. On July 7, a Japanese YS-11EB electronic surveillance aircraft operating in international air space over the East China Sea was intercepted by a Chinese JH-7 fighter-bomber, with the Chinese aircraft closing to within 30 meters (100 feet), according to the Japanese Defense Ministry. Another Chinese aircraft performed a nearly identical maneuver the following day. Through diplomatic and defense channels, Tokyo expressed "serious concerns" at the "abnormal approaches." Beijing refused to accept the complaint and accused Japan of "coming close and spying on China's normal activities." A similar incident took place in mid-June, when Chinese fighters operating from the aircraft carrier Shandong in the Pacific took up station around 45 meters from a Japanese P-3C reconnaissance aircraft for about 120 minutes. Over the last year, Chinese coast guard vessels and aircraft have been seen on hundreds of occasions operating in waters around the uninhabited Senkaku Islands, also known as the Diaoyu Islands, which Tokyo controls but China claims. A large Chinese buoy was also found inside the waters around the East China Sea archipelago. In August 2024, a Chinese military reconnaissance plane intruded into Japanese airspace over the Danjo Islands, part of Nagasaki Prefecture in the far southwest, causing Japanese fighters to scramble to intercept the aircraft. Tokyo also responded to the incident by summoning the charge d'affaires at the Chinese embassy to the Japanese Foreign Ministry. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video "As well as these acts, China is being even more assertive in the South China Sea and in the Taiwan Strait and that is a pattern that we have also seen increasing year-on-year," said Hinata-Yamaguchi. Beijing was quick to hit back against the white paper, with its Foreign Ministry saying the Japanese document "reflects a wrong perception of China, interferes in China's internal affairs and peddles the false 'China threat,'" according to Chinese paper. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian also reminded reporters in Beijing that 2025 marks the 80th anniversary "of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression." "We urge Japan to deeply reflect on its historical crime, draw lessons from history and stop finding pretexts for its military buildup by talking up 'tensions' in the neighborhood," he was quoted as saying by the state-run daily. The Japanese white paper did mention that Tokyo is on course to meet its goal of increasing defense spending to 2% of GDP by 2027, up from 1.8% at present. And while that figure is still significantly below the 5% that the US is presently demanding that its allies spend on defense, Hinata-Yamaguchi said the white paper also contains a message for Washington. "Reading through the document it is clear that there is new concern about the alliance," he said. "It is not stated overtly, but reading between the lines you can see that Tokyo is telling the US that it is doing everything that it can to take greater responsibility for its own defense and that it wants the US to have confidence in it as an ally and a partner." Yakov Zinberg, a professor of international relations at Tokyo's Kokushikan University, said the latest white paper also hints at deepening concerns that China is building military alliances with North Korea and, more importantly, Russia in Northeast Asia. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video "China and Russia have carried out a number of maritime and aerial military exercises in the last couple of years and I think it is very likely that there will be more such joint drills in the future," he said, suggesting that the intention is to demonstrate the nations' combined power and deter Japan from a more active resistance. In one maritime drill last year, a joint fleet of Chinese and Russian warships circumnavigated the Japanese archipelago in what was widely interpreted as a show of force. "Japan is extremely worried about this US administration and its commitment to the security alliance because President [Donald] Trump is simply so unpredictable," Zinberg said.
GMA Network
5 days ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
Japan calls China's military activity its biggest strategic challenge
A Chinese JH-7 fighter-bomber, center, is seen close to a YS-11EB electronic-intelligence aircraft, partly seen at left, of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force over the East China Sea on July 9, 2025. (Ministry of Defense via AP) TOKYO —Japan cautioned against China's rapid acceleration of military activity stretching from its southwestern coasts to the Pacific, describing the moves in a new defense report Tuesday as the biggest strategic challenge. China's growing military cooperation with Russia also poses serious security concerns to Japan, along with increasing tension around Taiwan and threats coming from North Korea, the Defense Ministry said in the annual report submitted to the Cabinet. 'The international society is in a new crisis era as it faces the biggest challenges since the end of World War II,' the report said, citing significant changes to the global power balance while raising concerns about an escalation of the China-U.S. rivalry. The security threats are concentrated in the Indo-Pacific, where Japan is located, and could get worse in the future, the report said. China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian criticized the white paper, saying it "adopts a wrongful perception of China, unjustifiably interferes in China's internal affairs, and plays up the so-called China threat.' Beijing has lodged protests with Japan, Lin said, defending China's military activities as 'legitimate and reasonable.' He urged Japan to reflect on its wartime past and 'stop hyping tension in the region and China-related issues as a pretext to justify its military buildup.' Japan has strengthened its military forces on southwestern islands in recent years and was preparing to deploy long-distance cruise missiles, as it worries about a conflict in Taiwan, which China claims as its territory to be annexed by force if necessary. The presence of Chinese warships in the Pacific has steadily increased and the frequency of their passage off southwestern Japan has tripled in the past three years, including in waters between Taiwan and the neighboring Japanese island of Yonaguni, the report said. It comes days after Japan demanded China stop flying its fighter jets unusually close to Japanese intelligence-gathering aircraft, which it said was happening repeatedly and could cause a collision. Beijing in turn accused Japan of flying near Chinese airspace for spying purposes. China's increasing dispatch of aircraft carriers in the Pacific underscores the country's attempt to advance its sea power in distant waters, the report said. The Defense Ministry also noted two cases last year in which a Chinese warplane briefly violated Japanese airspace off islands near Nagasaki, and an aircraft carrier's entry into a zone just outside of Japan's territorial waters southwest of the Nansei island chain, which stretches from the southern coast of Kyushu to Taiwan. North Korea poses 'an increasingly serious and imminent threat,' the report said, noting the North's development of missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads and solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles that can reach the U.S. mainland.
Toronto Star
5 days ago
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Japan calls China's military activity its biggest strategic challenge
In this photo provided by Japan's Ministry of Defense, a Chinese JH-7 fighter-bomber, center, is seen close to a YS-11EB electronic-intelligence aircraft, partly seen at left, of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force over the East China Sea on July 9, 2025. (Ministry of Defense via AP) flag wire: true flag sponsored: false article_type: : sWebsitePrimaryPublication : publications/toronto_star bHasMigratedAvatar : false :
Japan Today
5 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Today
Japan warns of China's military moves as biggest strategic challenge
A Chinese JH-7 fighter-bomber, center, is seen close to a YS-11EB electronic-intelligence aircraft, partly seen at left, of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force over the East China Sea on July 9. By Mari Yamaguchi Japan raised strong caution against China's rapid acceleration of military activity in extensive areas from its southwestern coasts to the Pacific, describing the moves as the biggest strategic challenge. China's growing joint operations with Russia also pose serious security concerns to Japan, along with increasing tension around Taiwan and threats coming from North Korea, the Defense Ministry said in an annual military report submitted to Cabinet on Tuesday. 'The international society is in a new crisis era as it faces the biggest challenges since the end of World War II,' the report said, citing significant changes to the global power balance while raising concerns about an escalation of the China-U.S. rivalry. The security threats are concentrated in the Indo-Pacific, where Japan is located, and could get worse in the future, the report said. Japan has accelerated its military buildup on southwestern islands in recent years, preparing to deploy long-distance cruise missiles, as it worries about a conflict in Taiwan, which China claims as its territory to be annexed by force if necessary. Taiwan launched 10-day, annual live-fire military exercises last week intended to guard against Chinese threats to invade. Japan tested a short-range, surface-to-ship missile at home earlier last month. Chinese warships' advance in the Pacific has steadily increased, with the frequency of their passage off southwestern Japan tripling in the past three years, including in waters between Taiwan and its neighboring Japanese island of Yonaguni, the 534-page report said. The report comes days after Japan demanded China stop flying its fighter jets abnormally close to Japanese intelligence-gathering aircraft, which it said was happening repeatedly and could cause a collision. Beijing, in return, accused Japan of flying near Chinese airspace for spying purposes. Two earlier close encounters in June occurred over the Pacific Ocean, where Japan spotted two Chinese aircraft carriers operating together for the first time. China's increasing dispatch of aircraft carriers in the Pacific underscores the country's attempt to advance its sea power in distant waters, the report said. It said China's frequent dispatch of bombers for long-distance flights in the Pacific by more sophisticated flight routes and fleet organization is seen as Beijing's attempt to show off its presence around Japan and to further advance its operational capability. The Defense Ministry noted two cases last year — a Chinese warplane's brief violation of Japanese airspace over waters off islands near Nagasaki and an aircraft carrier's entry into a zone just outside of Japan's territorial waters further southwest of the Nansei island chain, which stretches from the southern coast of Kyushu to Taiwan. With President Donald Trump focusing on the strengthening of the U.S. economy and security, Japan and other U.S. allies face expectations to play a greater role for peace and stability in the region, the report said. North Korea poses 'an increasingly serious and imminent threat' for Japan's security, the report said, noting the North's development of missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads into Japanese territory and solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles that can reach the U.S. mainland. Russia maintains active military operations around Japan and violated the country's airspace in September, the report added, saying its increasing strategic cooperation with China has posed 'strong concern' for Japan's security. Reeno Hashimoto in Tokyo contributed to this report. © Copyright 2025 PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Straits Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
‘Greatest strategic challenge': Japan reiterates China threat in annual defence review
A Chinese JH-7 fighter-bomber flying close to a Japan Air Self-Defence Force YS-11EB intelligence-gathering aircraft over the high seas in the East China Sea, on July 9. – China's repeated intrusions into Japanese territorial airspace and waters, coupled with a series of dangerous manoeuvres, mark a relentless campaign to change the status quo by force, Tokyo asserted in its annual defence review released on July 15. Such actions mean China poses 'an unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge' to Japan's security – a descriptor that was first adopted in 2022 in revised National Security Strategy documents. This demands a response rooted in 'comprehensive national power', the Defence Ministry said in its white paper, which has been chronicling security developments yearly since 1976. The release of the 538-page document comes days after cannon-equipped Chinese Coast Guard ships again entered Japanese waters near the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu islets on July 9. That same day, a Chinese JH-7 fighter bomber flew within 30m – roughly the length of a basketball court – of a YS-11 Japanese intelligence-gathering aircraft over the East China Sea. The following day, a JH-7 bomber again came close to a YS-11 plane, this time within 60m. Japan's defence ministry released photographs that show that the JH-7 might have been equipped with air-to-air missiles, and stressed that such 'abnormal' encounters carry a significant risk of accidental aerial collisions. Beijing retorted that its actions were legitimate and, instead, criticised Japan for entering China's air defence identification zone (ADIZ). China had unilaterally declared an ADIZ in 2013 that encompasses overlapping areas with Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. 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Singapore 'Nobody deserves to be alone': Why Mummy and Acha have fostered over 20 children in the past 22 years These incidents come just a month after China's unprecedented simultaneous deployment of two aircraft carriers in the Western Pacific, accompanied by Chinese J-15 fighter jets' 'unusually close' encounters with Japanese P-3C patrol planes. While the Self-Defence Forces (SDF) are called upon as Japan's first responders to external threats, the extent of their capabilities is constrained by demographic pressures. The trend of declining births , which is only picking up speed with fewer than 700,000 babies born in 2024 for the first time on record, has contributed to a chronic shortage of boots on the ground. 'Each and every SDF personnel constitutes the greatest pillar of our defence capability,' Japanese Defence Minister Gen Nakatani wrote in the white paper's foreword. 'Stably securing personnel is an utmost priority, and it is essential to establish arrangements so that they can dedicate themselves with pride, honour and a strong sense of mission to national defence, a duty critically important to the nation.' Yet recruitment has consistently fallen short of targets in a nation that, unlike regional territories like Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan, does not have mandatory conscription. This means there is no large reserve force to tap on, while any attempt to mandate conscription – like in Cambodia, which said on July 14 it would do so from 2026 – is constitutionally difficult. This is despite recent measures to raise the recruitment age ceiling from 27 years to 32 years old, and loosen rules on haircuts and tattoos. But the SDF enlisted fewer than 10,000 new recruits each in 2023 and 2024, with the total number of personnel now at 90 per cent of the intended 247,154 people. The shortfall between the targeted strength and actual headcount is only widening, exacerbated by a cut-throat battle for manpower with the private sector that promises far better wages. It is not for the lack of trying. The Defence Ministry has an ongoing recruitment blitz with direct outreach to universities and, controversially, targeted advertising at poor families. It has put up recruitment banners outside train stations and city halls, and produced snazzy advertisements on social media. 'In order to fundamentally strengthen defence capabilities in response to the most severe security environment since World War II, it is urgent and essential to secure the necessary personnel, lest the situation worsens,' the white paper said. A senior defence ministry official told ST on condition of anonymity that the recruitment challenge is typically 'impacted by a better economy'. This is not unique to the SDF and is also felt in 'other uniformed public sectors such as the police and fire departments'. Tokyo has historically struggled to raise wages for its public service, even as it has exhorted the private sector to do so. In 2025, private sector wages increased by an average 5.25 per cent – the biggest pay hike in 34 years – although salaries have still failed to keep pace with inflation. For the first time, the SDF is targeting millennials and Gen Z. The manga-style cover art of the defence white paper was done by 29-year-old digital illustrator Honoka Yoshifuku, featuring three SDF personnel from the three branches of Air, Ground and Maritime, including a female pilot. This artistic choice is noteworthy, as Tokyo uses the cover design of the white paper to reflect the mood of a particular period. Japan's Defence White Paper 2025 features manga-style illustrations of three Self-Defence Forces personnel from the Air, Ground and Maritime branches. PHOTO: JAPAN MINISTRY OF DEFENCE In 2024, the cover featured a sword being forged on an anvil to mark the SDF's 70th anniversary and to symbolise deterrence in how Japan has been 'working very hard to forge its 'sword' to avoid having to draw it'. Previous covers have included one generated by artificial intelligence to symbolise nascent threats, and another, rendered in sumi-e (ink wash painting) to reflect bushido, or the righteous samurai way. For 2025, the Defence Ministry devoted a new section of the report to highlight better perks. Wages are being bumped up with the 'unprecedented introduction and raising of more than 30 allowances'. Starting salaries for enlistees will also be raised to 198,800 yen (S$1,725) per month, from 157,000 yen per month. Living conditions are being improved with private sleeping quarters, 'stylish' furniture in shared spaces, better showers and toilets, and even internet connectivity on the high seas. The document further humanises active service personnel through first-person anecdotes like that of Air Self-Defence Force staff sergeant Tomohiro Miyazaki, who admitted to 'experiencing first-hand the nerves from using real ammunition' during a joint live-fire training exercise with the United States. Maritime Self-Defence Force lieutenant (junior grade) Yukiko Nojima said she was able to 'spend time in a well-balanced way' even when out at sea, with satellite communications allowing crew to keep in touch with their families on social media and even watch videos on YouTube. But would all these perks be enough to reverse the yawning recruitment shortfall? Professor Heng Yee Kuang of University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Public Policy told The Straits Times: 'The SDF has difficult recruiting because the job is perceived as 'three Ks': kitsui (demanding/hard), kitanai (dirty), kibishii (strict/harsh).' Despite attempts to rehabilitate the SDF's image, perceptions of a volatile security environment amid wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and potential conflict over Taiwan 'may unfortunately entrench negative perceptions that life in the SDF only means the 'three Ks'', he said. 'The operational military environment is becoming harsher with ever more risky intercepts of Japanese surveillance aircraft by Chinese warplanes and more frequent lengthier intrusions by Chinese vessels into Japanese waters,' Prof Heng added. The silver lining, defence officials said, was that technological innovation is one way the SDF can compensate for the widening manpower shortfall. 'One way is to use unmanned technology as far as possible,' the defence ministry official told ST, when asked if the chronic shortage of personnel would hurt Japan's ability to defend itself in case of an imminent war. 'We must urgently promote research and development of artificial intelligence, drones and other technologies such that we can continue our activities even if there is a lack of personnel.'
