Maybe the Japanese Navy should start sailing around some of China’s man-made islands in the South China Sea in response to this latest violation of Japanese territory:
Tokyo lodged a series of diplomatic protests with Beijing last week after China sent several coast guard vessels, including one armed with a deck-mounted machine gun, near its islets in the East China Sea.
Four Chinese coast guard ships passed the 12-mile territorial limit around the Senkakus eight times in three separate incidents on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, a Japanese coast guard spokesman told Stars and Stripes by phone Monday. Each ship stayed in those waters for less than 24 hours and left without incident.
Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs complained to the Chinese Embassy in Japan and to officials in Beijing on all three days, a ministry spokesman said by phone Monday.
The Japanese have responded to the Chinese escalation over the Senkakus:
Japan on Friday matched a move by rival China and will permit its coast guard to fire on foreign vessels attempting to land on the Senkakus, two square miles of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea.
The two countries’ coast guards regularly face off around the chain as Chinese vessels arrive to shadow or intimidate Japanese fishing vessels and Japan’s coast guard arrives to drive them away. Japan controls the islands, although Taiwan and China, which calls them Diaoyu Dao, also make claims.
The Chinese are already using their new Coast Guard law to pressure the Japanese over the Senkaku Islets:
Chinese government vessels entered Japanese territorial waters near the flash point Senkaku Islands on Saturday — the first time since China passed a new law earlier this month that allows its coast guard to use military force in waters the country claims — including those around the Senkakus.
Two China Coast Guard vessels, including one from its second-largest class of ships, entered the waters around the Japanese-administered Senkakus, which Beijing claims and calls the Diaoyu, around 4:45 a.m. on Saturday, approaching two Japanese fishing boats operating in the area, the Japan Coast Guard said in a statement.
The Japan Coast Guard said it had sent vessels to the area to protect the fishing ships while repeatedly urging the Chinese ships to leave the area. Two other Chinese government ships, including one sporting a cannon-like weapon, were spotted in the so-called contiguous zone just outside the territorial waters, it added.
Will we one day execute Operation Senkaku Freedom? According to Secretary Mattis we will if the uninhabited islets are ever occupied by China:
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis walks with Japanese Minister of Defense Tomomi Inada during a pass and review at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis chastised China on Saturday for “shredding the trust” of its neighbors, while reaffirming that the United States would defend Japan-administered islands claimed by China if they were ever attacked.
Mattis also praised the current cost-sharing agreement for hosting U.S. bases in Japan as a “model agreement,” despite comments by President Donald Trump during his campaign that Japan and South Korea were not paying enough for hosting U.S. troops.
In 2013, China declared an Air Defense Identification Zone over the uninhabited Senkaku Islands, which lie near Okinawa prefecture and Taiwan.
Japanese and Chinese fighter jets regularly overfly the uninhabited territory. Coast guard and other vessels have shadowed one another in nearby waters. [Stars & Stripes]
You would think the Japanese would have done this long ago considering the territorial threat they are facing from China. Adding these missile systems will make the Chinese think twice about any military adventurism that will cost them many ships plus it complicates enemy targeting:
Japan has decided to develop and deploy a land-to-sea missile system designed to enhance defense in the East China Sea at the same time it is embroiled in a tense standoff with China over the disputed Senkaku island chain, according to Japanese media reports.
Vehicle-mounted, GPS-guided missiles with a range of about 186 miles will be deployed to major southern islands such as Miyako in Okinawa Prefecture, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported Sunday, citing unnamed sources, which is customary in Japan. The system’s cost will be proposed in the fiscal 2017 defense budget request slated for release in mid-September.
The Ministry of Defense, which would not deny the move to procure the system when reached Monday, aims to deploy the missiles around 2023. [Stars & Stripes]
