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The Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. China claims the uninhabited islands, called the Diaoyu Islands by the Chinese, as their own. Photo: Kyodo
ChinaDiplomacy

Japan boosts East China Sea radar and patrol capacity to fend off China’s island claim: US report

  • Tokyo cannot compete with PLA Navy on size and armaments so instead upgraded monitoring and defence, says Centre for Strategic and International Studies
  • Japan recently reported extended presence of Chinese patrol ships near the contested Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands
Diaoyu Islands
Sarah Zheng
Sarah Zhengin Beijing
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Japan has boosted its ability in recent years to defend disputed islands in the East China Sea that China also claims, according to a new US think tank report, amid fresh tensions over increasingly assertive Chinese patrols in the region.
An analysis from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) found that Tokyo had upgraded its radar, signals intelligence and patrol coverage of the Senkaku Islands – which Beijing calls the Diaoyu – and Japan had added missile deployment capabilities on the nearby Ryukyus.

“China’s maritime forces deployed around the contested Senkaku Islands have become more capable and more determined,” the report from the CSIS’ Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative said on Wednesday. “In response, Japan is upgrading its ability to project power from the nearby Ryukyus, or Southwest Islands.”

Concerns over the East China Sea have grown in recent weeks after Japan reported the longest presence of Chinese patrol ships near the contested islands since a 2012 flare-up over Tokyo’s nationalisation of three islands there. Japan has objected to “repeated intrusions” from Chinese ships in Japanese waters, while China has insisted it has the “inherent right” to patrol the area.

The United States, which has said the islands fall under its defence treaty with Japan, has also criticised Beijing’s increased frequency and duration in the East China Sea. Kevin Schneider, commander of the US Forces, Japan, said last week the US was “100 per cent absolutely steadfast in its commitment to help the government of Japan with the situation”.

Japan seeks ‘future fighter’ to help protect disputed island chain from China

The CSIS report said that Japan faced an “uphill battle” if it tried to maintain control of the Senkaku area with its ships, which could not compete with China’s on size and armaments. Instead, Japan had invested in efforts to better monitor and defend the area from land, including with anti-ship missiles on three islands in addition to Okinawa and efforts to upgrade the capabilities of its missile units, the report said.

“Tokyo realises that matching Chinese capabilities around the Senkakus ship for ship is a losing proposition,” it said. “Given China’s widening numerical advantage at sea, Japan’s best hope to restore balance is by adding ground-based capabilities to the equation. And it appears committed to doing exactly that.”

While Beijing and Tokyo have sought to ease strained ties in recent years, their long-standing dispute over the Senkakus – which Taiwan also claims – has never been resolved. In 2012, China ramped up its presence in the waters after the Japanese government bought three of the islands from private Japanese owners, a move that sparked anti-Japan demonstrations in mainland China.
But in July, Japan said Chinese patrol ships had been just outside Japanese waters near the Senkaku Islands for more than 100 consecutive days since mid-April, the longest period since 2012. Japan’s coastguard has also reported that Chinese ships pursued Japanese fishing vessels in the waters there twice in the past three months.

Beijing responded by saying the Japanese fishing vessels were “illegally trespassing in Chinese waters”, and that it had the right to patrol and conduct law enforcement around Diaoyus.

Alongside the latest tensions in the East China Sea, Tokyo has also taken an increasingly tough line against Beijing’s repressive actions in Hong Kong, including China’s imposition of a harsh national security law on the city just before July 1.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Japan using missile arsenal as hedge against P.L.A. navy
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