Japan’s military may form a new unit to monitor Chinese naval operations, a move to counter what many Japanese strategists see as an increasingly aggressive stance by Beijing in the East China Sea.
The unit would consist of about 200 troops based on remote Yonaguni Island, which is on Japan’s western fringe near Taiwan, and would primarily be tasked with radar monitoring of Chinese naval operations in the area, according to a report in the Yomiuri Shimbun.
The report quoted unnamed Japanese Defense Ministry officials as saying a budget for the unit would be formally submitted soon. Ministry officials contacted by the Associated Press yesterday said they could not comment on specifics because the plan was still under discussion.
The ministry has confirmed, however, that it is considering bolstering military monitoring capabilities in the country’s southwestern islands.
Tokyo is deeply concerned over the growth of the Chinese navy and its posture in the East China Sea, where the two countries have conflicting territorial claims.
Relations between Beijing and Tokyo have soured recently because of an incident in which a Chinese trawler collided with two Japanese Coast Guard patrol ships in waters near the disputed Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The islands are controlled by Japan, but also claimed by Taiwan and China.
After the Sept. 7 collision, Beijing demanded an apology and compensation, but Tokyo countered by demanding that China pay for the damage to the patrol boats.
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said on Monday he would discuss the dispute should he meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) at the APEC summit, which Japan is hosting this weekend.
Hu is to attend the summit, but Beijing and Tokyo have yet to confirm that Kan and Hu will hold talks.
China has already rejected an offer by US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to broker three-way talks with Japan over the islands.
Clinton said Washington has no position on which country holds ultimate sovereignty over the islands.
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