Japan yesterday warned that China risked escalating tensions with Taiwan with an increase in military exercises that appeared aimed in part at readying Beijing’s forces for a possible invasion.
Japan’s annual assessment of security threats, including those posed by China, North Korea and Russia, comes as Taiwan closely monitors Chinese People’s Liberation Army air and sea exercises, including one with the Shandong aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean.
The drills are the latest in a series including maneuvers in the Taiwan Strait last year that a senior US general said would be key to any invasion.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“Because of that increase in military activity, we cannot discount the possibility of heightened tensions,” Japan said for the first time in its annual Defense White Paper.
Repeated joint sorties by Chinese and Russian ships around Japan “are clearly intended as a demonstration of force against Japan and are a grave concern from the perspective of national security,” it said.
This year’s paper said that Beijing has regularly sent ships to areas near disputed islands in the East China Sea, reiterating that China’s military ambitions are “the greatest strategic challenge” to Japan and the world.
It seems China intends to make increased military activities around Taiwan a new normal for the region, said the paper, which also listed heightened defense risks associated with artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and disinformation.
“The international community is facing its greatest trial since World War II and competition among states, especially between the US and China, and it is set to intensify,” the paper said.
Japan worries that any conflict in Taiwan would spread to its territory.
With its westernmost island only 110km from Taiwan, Japan hosts more than 50,000 US troops, hundreds of US military aircraft and an aircraft carrier strike group that Washington could deploy to defend Taiwan.
Japan’s 548-page assessment also highlighted China’s plans to double its nuclear arsenal to more than 1,000 warheads by 2030.
It mentioned attempts by North Korea to boost its nuclear strike capability with surveillance satellites and new, more advanced missiles, some with sufficient range to strike the US.
Japan also identified Russia as a concern because of its military ties with China, and, more recently, with North Korea, which had begun supplying it with artillery shells and other ammunition for its forces fighting in Ukraine.
In previous years, the defense paper has raised the need to counter regional threats, including growing Chinese military clout and a nuclear-armed North Korea.
Beijing said it was “strongly dissatisfied and resolutely opposed” to the white paper’s statements.
“The latest version of Japan’s defense white paper seriously interferes in China’s internal affairs, plays the same old tune, hypes up the so-called Chinese threat and exaggerates regional tensions,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lin Jian (林劍) said.
Also yesterday, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it has imposed sanctions on six US military hardware firms and several senior executives over arms sales to Taiwan.
The sanctions took effect yesterday and cover Anduril Industries, Maritime Tactical Systems, Pacific Rim Defense, AEVEX Aerospace, LKD Aerospace and Summit Technologies, the ministry added.
The Chinese Ministry of National Defense said that the Shandong’s recent far-sea combat training is a routine annual arrangement and does not have a specific target.
The navy is to hold similar exercises routinely to improve the compatibility of the carrier group, it added.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
TIT-FOR-TAT: The US allegedly revoked the visa of a Chinese national working at Xinhua News Agency in the US in response to Beijing’s expulsion of Vivian Wang The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China for expelling a New York Times correspondent from Beijing following the newspaper’s interview with President William Lai (賴清德), saying the move highlighted Beijing’s suppression of press freedom and its threat to international news media. Taiwan has noted a series of recent incidents in which Beijing used similar tactics to “threaten and pressure international media outlets and journalists,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a statement. “This concerns not only press freedom and freedom of expression, but also the safety of journalists, and Taiwan and relevant partners are paying close attention to the situation,” she
NOT IMMEDIATE: Taiwan has a chance to appeal the proposed 10 percent tariff before it starts, while other countries face a 12.5 percent tariff from the trade office Taiwan is among 60 economies determined by the US to have failed to impose or enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labor, according to a notice released on Tuesday by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), which proposed imposing an additional 10 percent or more tariff on them. The USTR in a statement said that following an investigation, it had determined under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 that the failure of the 60 economies to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor is
RSS