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US president-elect Donald Trump, left, angered China by accepting a congratulatory call from Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen in early December. Photo: AP

Tensions increase as China’s neighbours build up military capabilities

Allies and rivals jockey for position in preparation for change in US administration

Tensions between China and the United States have grown beyond the seizure of a US underwater drone in mid-December, as China perceives the US to be meddling in its security environment. China’s neighbours are also stepping up their military capabilities, heightening the security risk.

Japan

Japan, the major ally of the United States in Asia , approved a record $43.6 billion military budget on December 21, increasing spending for the fifth year in a row. The increase is perceived to be a response to potential threats from China and North Korea.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet plans to spend the funds on mobile missile batteries, amphibious vehicles and other equipment suited to a mobile force, Reuters reported.

Earlier in December, China expressed “grave concern” when two Japanese F-15 fighter jets “interfered” with Chinese Air Force training in the western Pacific.

The jets were scrambled to follow Chinese warplanes that were flying over the Miyako Strait as part of a routine exercise, the Chinese Defence Ministry said.

South Korea

Another important ally of the United States has quickened its pace to deploy a US missile shield system.

South Korean acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn said the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) anti-missile system should be deployed as soon as possible for the country’s security.

South Korea plans to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence anti-missile system next year, which China views as destabilising security in the region. Photo: Handout

Hwang made the remarks on December 21 during a parliamentary session, saying the government cannot wait “even for a moment” to cope with North Korea’s nuclear provocations.

Seoul plans to install a THAAD battery in Seongju, just under 300km southeast of the capital, by May next year.

The acting president called for parliamentary support for the deployment, stating that the North’s nuclear provocations this year were “unprecedented”.

The deployment of THAAD has drawn much criticism from China, which has stated that the real purpose of the system is to track missiles launched from China, rather than from North Korea.

Taiwan

US president-elect Donald Trump infuriated Beijing by accepting a congratulatory call from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen two weeks after he won the election, ignoring a decades-long protocol of the United States upholding the one-China policy.

Ten days later, Trump added fuel to the fire by questioning the one-China approach, which stipulates that the US can have diplomatic relations with mainland China or Taiwan, but not both.

President Barack Obama on Friday signed into law the National Defence Authorization Act for Fiscal 2017, which included for the first time a section on senior military exchanges with Taiwan.

Section 1284 of the Act states: “It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Defence should conduct a programme of senior military exchanges between the United States and Taiwan that have the objective of improving military-to-military relations and defence cooperation between the United States and Taiwan”.

Such an exchange programme would be conducted at least once a year in both the United States and Taiwan, according to the act.Trump

Vietnam

In November, the Washington-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) said in a report that Vietnam is building large hangars on the disputed Spratly islands in the South China Sea and lengthening its runway there to 1,000 meters.

The disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea are a source of contention between China and its neighbours. Photo: Reuters

Activity visible on Ladd Reef, on the southwestern fringe of the Spratlys, could anger Beijing, which claims sovereignty over the group.

Vietnam had fortified several of the islands with mobile rocket artillery launchers capable of striking China’s holdings across the vital trade route in August.

Beijing’s response

A group of Chinese warships, led by the Liaoning, the country’s sole aircraft carrier, is scheduled to carry out drills in the western Pacific “in accordance with annual exercise plans,” a Chinese navy statement said on Tuesday.

Veerle Nouwens, a research analyst for Asia Studies with the Royal United Services Institute in London, says China is showing its growth as a “regional military heavyweight”.

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