Japan has raised alarm over China’s intensifying military operations from its southwestern coasts to the Pacific, calling it the biggest strategic challenge in a new annual defence report released on Tuesday. The defence ministry outlined China's growing assertiveness in the region as a pressing security threat. The report also highlighted China’s strengthening military cooperation with Russia, growing tensions around Taiwan and ongoing threats from North Korea as significant regional risks. Japan's Defence Ministry warned that the overall security environment is deteriorating.
Era of global instability
According to the report, "The international society is in a new crisis era as it faces the biggest challenges since the end of World War II.” It cited global power shifts and the intensifying rivalry between China and the United States as key factors worsening security conditions, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region, where Japan is geographically and strategically placed.
China responds
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian condemned Japan’s white paper, accusing it of misrepresenting China and interfering in its internal affairs. Lin said the report exaggerated the “China threat” and called on Japan to reflect on its wartime actions. Beijing defended its military activities as “legitimate and reasonable” and criticised Japan for using regional tension to justify its own military buildup.
Chinese military presence near Japan
The report noted a significant increase in Chinese warship activity in the Pacific, particularly near Japan’s southwest. Over the past three years, the frequency of Chinese naval passage near Taiwan and the Japanese island of Yonaguni has tripled. This comes just days after Japan accused China of dangerously flying fighter jets near Japanese intelligence aircraft, a claim China countered by accusing Japan of surveillance near its airspace.
Japan’s Defence Ministry expressed concern over China’s growing deployment of aircraft carriers in the Pacific, suggesting Beijing is advancing its sea power and extending its military reach. The report also documented two instances last year of Chinese warplanes violating Japanese airspace near Nagasaki and a Chinese aircraft carrier entering a zone just outside Japanese territorial waters near the Nansei Islands, which lie between Kyushu and Taiwan.
Russia, North Korea axis
North Korea remains another major concern for Japan. The report described Pyongyang as “an increasingly serious and imminent threat,” citing its progress in developing nuclear-capable missiles and solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles that could reach the U.S. mainland.
The report also pointed to Russia’s sustained military operations in the region. It recorded an incident in September where a Russian aircraft violated Japanese airspace, further contributing to Japan’s heightened sense of insecurity.
With inputs from AP
