China’s marine activity in Japanese waters is issue, Japan legislator states

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China's naval activity in Japanese waters is concern, Japan lawmaker says

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SINGAPORE — Japan’s state minister of defense states China’s growing maritime activities in the waters surrounding Japan is a hazard.

“We feel fear from the Chinese expanding naval power throughout the Pacific Ocean,” Yasuhide Nakayama informed CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Tuesday as part of Milken Institute’s Asia Summit.

China and Japan have actually had a longstanding disagreement over a series of unoccupied islands in the East China Sea. Known as the Diaoyu islands to China and the Senkaku islands to Japan, the 2 sides have actually typically clashed over the challenged area, however concurred last month to continue conversations.

Nakayama’s remarks come days after Japanese media reported that Japan, France and the United States will hold joint military drills for the very first time next May, according to Reuters.

“This is a message aimed at China,” Pierre Vandier, chief of personnel of the French navy, supposedly informed Japanese paper Sankei. “This is a message about multi-lateral partnerships and the freedom of passage.”

A Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force flying over the challenged islets called the Senkaku islands in Japan and Diaoyu islands in China, in the East China Sea.

Japan Pool | AFP | Getty Images

An viewpoint piece in Chinese state-backed tabloid Global Times stated the military workouts reveal that Japan wishes to count on its allies to support its “illegal maritime claims” and limitation China’s advancement.

“The dispute between China and Japan over the Diaoyu Islands has long existed and China has sufficient evidence to prove that the islands have always been an integral part of the Chinese territory,” the short article stated.

Nakayama stated Beijing is “unilaterally” altering the status quo in the East China Sea. “Every single day, the Chinese ships, the coast guard vessels try to get into our territorial water,” he stated.

He mentioned a particular occurrence in October where a Chinese vessel remained in Japanese waters for more than 57 hours. “This is a very big concern for us,” he stated.

Nakayama likewise stated Tokyo is worried about Beijing’s cooperation with Moscow. He discussed a current occurrence when a Russian airplane got in Japan’s airspace, however provided couple of information. “This is a big problem and big issue,” he included.

Japanese media reported last month that a Russian helicopter horned in Japanese airspace off Hokkaido on Oct. 2, triggering the defense ministry to rush fighter jets in reaction to the invasion.