TOKYO: The Japanese government, in an annual foreign policy report, has expressed concerns over China’s military expansion and growing activities in the East and South China Seas.
The 2021 edition of the Diplomatic Bluebook released on Tuesday mentioned China’s expansion of military capabilities that lack transparency. The report stressed that growing unilateral actions by Beijing to change the status quo in Asian waters pose ‘strong concerns’ in the region and to the international community, Nikkei Asia reported Kyodo News.
The dragon claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, and has overlapping territorial claims with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan.
Beijing has been increasing its maritime activities in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea over the past few months, partly in response to its concerns over the increasing US military presence in the region as Sino-US tensions escalate.
China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea and its efforts to advance into the Indian Ocean are seen to have challenged the established rules-based system.
The report also cited China’s human rights abuses in its Xinjiang region and the crackdown on Hong Kong as issues of concern.
The Asian giant has been rebuked globally for cracking down on Uyghur Muslims by bundling them out to mass detention camps, interfering in their religious activities and forcing the community to undergo re-education or indoctrination.
Referring to Japan’s inclusion into a grouping with the United States, Australia and India – known as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) – the report said the framework’s visions have gained international support, and Japan will seek to cooperate with more countries through bilateral and multilateral dialogues, Nikkei Asia reported.
As for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s postponed state visit to Japan, the bluebook said that Tokyo and Beijing should focus on containing the coronavirus pandemic for the time being and are not ready to discuss rescheduling.
It also said that the Japan-US alliance “continues to serve as the cornerstone of Japan’s diplomatic and security policies and its significance has grown more than ever in the face of growing uncertainties in the region’s security environment”. The report explained the outcome of the in-person summit talks earlier this month between Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and US President Joe Biden in detail. (ANI)
