Tokyo has upped the ante in its territorial dispute with Beijing, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday slamming China’s suspected test drilling in the disputed East China Sea as “unacceptable”. Kishida’s remarks came on the eve of Joe Biden’s arrival in Tokyo for his first official visit as US president, following a trip to South Korea. Countering China is believed to be high on Biden’s agenda when he lands in Japan on Sunday. He and Kishida are expected to firm up the US-Japan military alliance and step up strategic alignment on China with other regional powers, including India and Australia. The Japanese leader said he was disappointed in China’s alleged attempts to explore gas fields in the disputed waters where the two countries’ exclusive economic zones (EEZ) overlap, weighing in on the latest row that saw Tokyo’s foreign ministry lodge an official protest with the Chinese embassy on Friday. Calling Beijing’s decision to push forward with a unilateral plan to build a gas development facility “extremely regrettable”, the ministry “strongly urged an early resumption of negotiations” to implement a 2008 bilateral agreement on harnessing resources in the East China Sea. Japanese ‘angry’ at Chinese maritime actions, want Tokyo to take firmer stance Japan and China agreed on joint gas development in the disputed area in 2008, but negotiations over how to implement the deal were suspended in 2010. Tokyo accuses Beijing of having positioned 17 suspected drilling rigs, including the latest facility – near the so-called median line between their coastlines. Observers say the latest incident underlines the sharp decline in relations between the Asian rivals, which have long been embroiled in wartime history and maritime disputes. “It’s clear that Japan’s wariness towards China’s maritime activity has been heightened in recent times – not least of course the regular PLA Navy presence close to Japanese islands, as seen in the Liaoning carrier group’s training cruise,” said Collin Koh, a research fellow from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University. While China is concerned about Japan’s growing cooperation with Beijing’s strategic rivals, it is Tokyo’s increasing interest in the Taiwan issue, especially the possibility of direct military intervention alongside the US in times of a cross-strait conflict, that has ruffled feathers in Beijing, according to Koh. This comes as concerns over China’s authoritarian shift sees Japan become increasingly aligned with the US and other Western powers on Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and the South China Sea . Touring Asia and Europe early this month, Kishida highlighted Japan’s “strong concern” about unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East and South China seas and vowed that Japan and its allies would fight for “peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait”. Beijing hit back at Kishida, accusing him of fanning anti-China sentiment, provoking confrontation between China and the West and seeking to expand Japan’s military and geopolitical clout defying its pacifist constitution. During talks with his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made little effort to hide Beijing’s anger over Tokyo teaming up with Washington to contain China. China warns Japan against joining forces with US The signs pointed to “rocky times ahead” for bilateral ties, warned Li Mingjiang, associate professor at the S. Rajaratnam School. Li said Beijing had become increasingly vocal in its criticism of the Kishida administration which, seven months into its term, had seemed determined to take on its giant neighbour by helping Washington forge a global anti-Chinese alliance. “China is deeply disappointed and frustrated towards Kishida, and its harsh rhetoric can serve as some sort of deterrence, warning Japan against radical steps that may bring bilateral ties to the point of no return, which would also harm Tokyo’s own interests,” he said. Liu Jiangyong, an expert on regional affairs at Tsinghua University in Beijing, noted that the Kishida administration had yet to reaffirm Japan’s long-held one-China policy, deemed as the foundation for diplomatic ties. Moreover, for the first time since World War II, Japan had designated China as a severe security threat and actively sought the meddling of outside forces in regional affairs, he said. “Japan under Kishida and his predecessors has tried to pull India, Vietnam and other regional powers closer, pit countries against China and invite nations and organisations outside the region, including Nato, to form an anti-China alliance,” Liu said. During his stay in Tokyo, Biden is expected to affirm yet again that the US-Japan security treaty covers the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, also claimed by Beijing as the Diaoyu, effectively taking Japan’s side in the long-standing territorial dispute with China. “Japan is not just helping the US confront China. In the wake of the Ukraine crisis, it is trying to break the constraints of its constitution and shape the existing balance of power with its military and economic strength,” Liu said. ‘External forces’ meddling in South China Sea, Chinese official says With the US’ alliance with Japan and South Korea further strengthened, Biden’s Asia visit is likely to put China in a much more difficult position in the US-China rivalry, according to Li. “China’s worsening external environment will exacerbate woes in its foreign policy. But the war of words will not have much impact on how Washington and Tokyo approach Beijing,” Li said. “With hopes for a detente with China evaporating quickly, Japan may have no other option but to boost alliance with the US to counter its perceived security threats from China.” Additional reporting by Reuters and AFP