A historic dispute between China and Japan has reignited, threatening the stability of the region amid fears of a showdown between the heavyweights.
Tensions are rising between Japan and China, and a surprising move by Tokyo surrounding a disputed territory shows an alarming showdown could be looming.
At the centre of the bitter clash are a chain of uninhabited islets in the East China Sea, known as Senkaku Islands in Japan and Diaoyu Islands in China.
The dispute is a historic one, with China claiming the discovery of the region from the 14th century, while Japan was in control of it from 1895 until its surrender after World War II.
The islands were administered by the US until 1972, when they were handed back to Japan, and the 1968 discovery of possible undersea oil reserves in the area sparked renewed interest at the time.
Tensions over the islands then boiled over yet again in 2012, leading to mass protests in China.
Japan’s shock move
But in a surprising new move, Japan is pushing back against increasingly aggressive moves by China, with the Japan Ground Self-Defence Force (JGSDF) kicking off nationwide exercises involving all units for the first time in almost three decades.
According to local Japanese media, it was in direct response to “China’s ramped-up regional assertiveness”, with Tokyo claiming Chinese Coast Guard vessels had entered Japanese territorial waters a staggering 88 times between January 1 and the end of August.
In response, Japan has been beefing up its Self-Defence Forces, with the addition of F-35 fighter jets, converting warships to aircraft carriers and building new destroyers, submarines and missiles.
It’s the first time Japan has conducted such exercises in almost 30 years, with the last occurring in 1993 after the Cold War ended.
‘Defending our territory’
Speaking to CNN this week, Japan’s Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi insisted his country was willing to defend its territory and draw a red line around the islands.
“Against Chinese action to Senkaku Islands and other parts of the East China Sea … we have to demonstrate that the government of Japan is resolutely defending our territory with the greater number of Japanese coast guard vessels than that of China,” he said.
“There is no territorial dispute relating to the Senkaku Islands between Japan and other countries.”
China hits back
But according to Beijing, the ownership of the islands is not in dispute.
“The Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islands are an inherent part of China’s territory, and it is our inherent right to carry out patrols and law enforcement activities in these waters,” China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement in 2020.
And in a report by Communist Party mouthpiece the Global Times this week, an anonymous Chinese military expert claimed that if Japan were to repeat the exercises again, “this could be a sign that Japan is preparing for war and the PLA should stay vigilant”.
The Global Times also claimed that Japan was “trying to display its hard power to serve the US Indo-Pacific strategy to contain China militarily”, but argued that “a military conflict with China will bring destructive consequences to the country”.
It added that “China is prepared for the worst-case scenario” in which “the US and its allies, including Japan, launch an all-out military intervention to interrupt China’s national reunification”.
Experts’ warning
Experts have long sounded warning bells over China’s actions in the East China Sea, with a leading expert raising the alarm over the islands in February.
Dr Toshi Yoshihara, Senior Fellow at the Centre for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments think tank in Washington, said at the time that intervention in the region was necessary.
“Unless Japan promptly takes substantive countermeasures to push back, China will without question continue to pursue a strategy aimed at taking away sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture, “ he said, according to Japan Forward.
“If Japan only wrings its hands, limiting its response to expressions of regret and concern, and does not take any substantive action to push back, then there is no doubt that China will move on to the next stage of its ‘salami-slicing’ game plan for seizing sovereignty.”
And in a grim sign of how dire the situation was becoming, US President Joe Biden vowed to stick to America’s security pact to defend Japan if the Senkaku Islands were attacked almost immediately after being sworn in at the start of the year.
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