The Yomiuri Shimbun
The government believes the Chinese fleet that sailed between Okinawa Island and Miyakojima island last week indicated once again that the Chinese Navy is increasing its efforts to expand the range of its operations.
On Saturday, a fleet of 10 Chinese vessels, including two submarines, was spotted in international waters sailing between the two islands.
As a result, the government is closely monitoring China's maritime activities in the area.
In the PLA Daily, the Chinese People's Liberation Army described the navy's latest action as an exercise designed to deploy its warships in distant waters.
According to the Self-Defense Forces' Joint Staff Office, five Chinese naval ships, including frigates, took part in an exercise in the East China Sea from Wednesday to Friday last week. On Thursday, a Chinese carrier-based helicopter came within about 90 meters of two Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers.
The Joint Staff Office fears the Chinese might have been engaged in spying activities or an act of provocation as a Chinese in the helicopter was seen pointing a camera at an MSDF ship.
MSDF Chief of Staff Keiji Akahoshi said Tuesday that the helicopter posed a danger to some extent.
The Defense Ministry on Monday asked China through diplomatic channels to explain its actions as safe navigation could be endangered.
Also worrying to the government was that the submarines, which normally travel submerged, were on the surface as the fleet sailed between Okinawa Island and Miyakojima.
A government source said the Chinese naval forces have increased their potential by expanding their training area, with the aim of preventing any intervention by the naval forces of the United States or other nations if a contingency arose in the Taiwan Strait.
"The maneuver shows that China has to a large degree put into force a defense strategy off its coastal waters," said Tetsuo Kotani, a researcher at the Ocean Policy Research Foundation.
The government will only monitor Chinese naval activities for now because sailing and carrying out training exercises in international waters does not violate international law. At a press conference Monday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said, "Announcing the naval maneuvers sends a strong message to China that the activities of its naval vessels will be closely monitored by the Japanese government."
However, a high-ranking Foreign Ministry official said the impact of the fleet's movements on the bilateral relationship between the two countries would be "limited."
Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada also stopped short of making any clear comments on the situation at Monday's press conference. "I wouldn't like to make any comment until I fully confirm all the facts," he said.
(Apr. 15, 2010)
Posts
