The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is turning up the heat around Japan’s Senkaku Islands. It is challenging Japanese control and has warned Tokyo not to complain the next time a host of Chinese fishing boats swarms the area – with Chinese Coast Guard and PLA Navy ships providing cover. And this is likely to happen sooner rather than later.
Japan’s Defense Minister, Taro Kono, said at an early August news conference: “The SDF (Self Defense Force) will act firmly when necessary while joining hands with the Japan Coast Guard.” Kono declined to provide details, noting: “We do not want to show our cards.”
Many Western observers have long assumed that if backed into a corner Japan will fight — despite its reticence about things military. The prospect of losing territory to the Chinese is presumably such a “corner.”
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Republished with permission from AND Magazine
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