Task force to monitor China's defence moves

A team of researchers has been set up within Japan's National Institute for Defence Studies with the express task of keeping a closer eye on China's military spending and changes in Beijing's strategy in the region.

The decision was first reported on Sunday and confirmed by Masayuki Masuda, a China specialist at the institute. It comes after defence officials were caught unawares by a fleet of 10 People's Liberation Army vessels, including two submarines, that were spotted in international waters close to the Okinawa chain of islands on April 10.

Tokyo has never previously identified such a large force so close to its territory and the reports sent alarm bells ringing in Kasumigaseki, the location of Japan's Defence Ministry and the Diet (parliament) building.

A week after that incident, the Sunday Morning Post reported that a flotilla of vessels from the PLA's East Sea Fleet were conducting war games southeast of Japan's offshore islands. The exercises, including destroyers, frigates and submarines, were unprecedented in scale and reach.

'We do not accurately know how much China is spending on defence, but even the publicly announced figure is larger than the Japanese defence budget,' Masuda told the South China Morning Post.

'The Japanese government has started to draw up new defence policy guidelines, which should be ready by the end of the year, but because of the budget situation it will be almost impossible to catch up with China's spending.'