Japan has raised concerns over China’s expanding military presence and the shifting balance of power in the Asia-Pacific.
China’s actions “present an unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge,” the Japanese Defense Ministry wrote in its annual white paper.
Why It Matters
The report comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping pushes to complete the People’s Liberation Army’s modernization by 2035 and seeks to replace the United States as the region’s dominant military power. China possesses the world’s largest navy, a vast missile arsenal, and is rapidly building up its nuclear capabilities.
China’s increasing coast guard patrols near the disputed, Tokyo-administered Senkaku Islands, and continued threats toward neighboring Taiwan have prompted Japan to reinterpret its postwar constitution to allow for the collective self-defense of allies, boost defense spending, and pursue closer cooperation with its defense treaty partner, the U.S.
Newsweek reached out to the Pentagon via email for comment.
What To Know
“The international community is facing its greatest trial since World War II and entering a new era of crisis,” Japanese Minister of Defense Gen Nakatani said in the white paper presented to the Cabinet on Tuesday.
While the 534-page report also highlighted Russia’s military activities and North Korea’s frequent missile launches and advancing nuclear weapons program, it was China that was described as the preeminent threat.
“Japan should respond with its comprehensive national power and in cooperation and collaboration with its ally, like-minded countries, and others,” the authors stated.
China’s navy has been operating farther afield and near Japanese territory with increasing frequency, the report said, noting that Chinese navy warships passing between islands in Japan’s southwestern prefecture of Okinawa have tripled in number between 2021 and 2024.
The defense ministry expressed “grave concern” over recent encroachments by China, citing the Chinese spy plane that entered Japanese airspace, as well as the aircraft carrier Liaoning‘s passage through the narrow gap separating Okinawa’s Yonaguni island and Taiwan in October.
Also featured in the report is the near-daily presence of Chinese coast guard ships near the disputed Senkaku Islands—known as the Diaoyu Islands in China—which the report characterized as a unilateral attempt to change the status quo.
The report drew parallels with China’s expansive activities in the South China Sea, where Chinese maritime forces have drawn fire for their increasing activities within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.
China’s strengthening security ties with Russia, including joint bomber flights and warship patrols near Japan, described as shows of force, continue to be a source of concern.
As for Taiwan, the self-ruled democracy China claims as its territory and has threatened to unify by force if necessary, the defense ministry warned that the military balance between the two sides is shifting rapidly in Beijing’s favor.
The paper also expressed growing concern over Beijing’s increasing use of gray-zone activities—coercive actions that stop short of war—and warned that military pressure, including potential blockades, could be used to threaten Taipei.
Although the U.S. remains Taiwan’s primary arms supplier under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, Washington has maintained a policy of “strategic ambiguity” regarding whether it would intervene militarily.
Many analysts believe that Japan, which views a Chinese takeover of Taiwan as an existential threat to its national security, would likely participate in a U.S.-led counteroffensive if conflict erupted.
What People Are Saying
Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, in the white paper: “Under these circumstances, Japan…is fundamentally strengthening its defense capabilities, including the ability to carry out counterstrike operations, and is making steady progress on various measures, including securing and strengthening the necessary defense budget.
“At the same time, Japan is working to further deepen its alliance with the United States, which serves as the cornerstone of its security, and to expand security cooperation with like-minded countries and others.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters Tuesday: “The white paper reflects a wrong perception of China, interferes in China’s internal affairs, and peddles the false ‘China threat.’ China strongly deplores and firmly opposes this, and has protested to Japan…China’s national defense policy is defensive in nature, and our defense development and military activities are legitimate and justified.”
U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby, on X: “An important, clear-eyed strategic assessment from our close ally Japan. We at DOD stand ready to work closely with Tokyo to adjust to this new era and to follow President Trump’s guidance to make our alliances stronger, more equitable, and thus sustainable.”
What Happens Next
Nakatani predicted that great power competition between Washington and Beijing will likely continue to intensify.
After decades of keeping its defense budget at about 1 percent of GDP, Japan has begun increasing spending in recent years with the goal of reaching 2 percent by 2027.
In March, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pushed back at Colby’s statement that Japan should raise defense spending to 3 percent of GDP, saying such decisions would not be made “at the direction of any other country.”
The post US Ally Calls China Greatest Threat appeared first on Newsweek.
