Beijing's assertiveness in the South China Sea is likely to be replicated in the East China Sea when its military capabilities improve, a Japanese government-backed report warned yesterday, referring to the two countries' dispute over the Diaoyu Islands, known as the Senkakus in Japanese.
Since the People's Liberation Army Navy has been increasingly active around the waters off the Diaoyu Islands, which Japan claims as part of its territory, over the past few years, Tokyo should pay close attention to any indication that Beijing is looking to expand its influence there, said a report by the National Institute for Defence Studies, a think-tank of Japan's Ministry of Defence.
'China's assertive actions in the South China Sea over the past few years have aggravated the security environment surrounding the country,' the reported said, pointing to a series of military drills conducted by the PLA Navy and government maritime and fishery patrols in the past two years, the construction of a new submarine base on Hainan Island , China's gateway to the South China Sea, and other military activities that show China is increasing its presence in the South and East China seas.
The report continued: 'Applying pressure backed by force to the disputing countries in Southeast Asia may only drive [Beijing] to safeguard [its] own respective sovereign rights with a more hardline approach, the result of which would be heightening regional tensions.
'This is why the United States believes it now needs to strengthen its political and military involvement in the security of this region.'
Beijing lays claim to essentially all of the South China Sea, where its claim to ownership of the Spratly archipelago overlaps with claims by Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia.