Japan protests over China military incident

Tokyo has protested to Beijing over the “extremely dangerous” actions of a Chinese military helicopter that buzzed a Japanese destroyer operating in the sensitive waters of the East China Sea.

The incident highlights the potential for frictions between East Asia's leading powers as China's increasingly potent military becomes a more assertive maritime player in the region.

It is the latest in a string of incidents in which regional neighbours have accused Chinese vessels or helicopters of reckless behaviour at sea.

Last week, Manila protested against an incident in which it said Chinese patrol boats threatened to ram a Philippine survey vessel in the strategically important and resource-rich South China Sea.

Concerns about China's rising power prompted Tokyo to last year order a sweeping reordering of its military forces intended to give it a stronger and more mobile presence in southern Japanese islands bordering the East China Sea.

Japan's defence ministry said the Chinese helicopter had been flying at an altitude of just 40m when it came within a horizontal distance of about 70m from the Japanese destroyer Samidare on Monday afternoon.

“This behaviour is extremely dangerous,” Toshimi Kitazawa, Japan's defence minister, told a news conference on Tuesday, adding that Tokyo had already protested to Beijing “through diplomatic channels”.

Officials said the Chinese helicopter had this time come even closer than during a similar incident in April last year that was also protested against by Tokyo.

The East China Sea is a focus of Sino-Japanese tensions, with both sides claiming large swathes of its resource-rich waters as their own exclusive economic zones.

A Japanese defence ministry official declined to give details of where the latest incident occurred, but denied media reports it was near the controversial Chunxiao gas field, where Tokyo says Chinese drilling operations could be drawing gas from across the “median line” that it claims as the border of its EEZ.

In 2008, Beijing and Tokyo announced they would work together to exploit gas reserves in disputed areas of the East China Sea, but progress has since stalled.

Beijing halted discussions on joint gas development last year after a Chinese fishing boat clashed with Japanese coastguard near a group of disputed islands known as the Senkakus in Japanese and the Diaoyus in Chinese.

Military officials from south-east Asian countries say Beijing has been evading dialogue on conflict prevention in disputed waters.

The Chinese government says it has been working to assuage regional concerns triggered by its growing power.

“We realise that some people doubt our strategy of peaceful development and have concerns over China’s rise,” said a senior Beijing official involved in foreign policy planning. But he blamed these doubts on foreigners’ ill will and failure to understand China.

The naval arm of China's People's Liberation Army is rapidly expanding the range of its patrols and exercises, but has said it aims to dispel doubts among neighbours by being more transparent. Last summer, it began announcing most of its regular naval exercises in advance.

Two years ago, the US accused China of a series of harassments of US Navy surveillance vessels in both the East China Sea and the South China Sea.

However, Chinese and US military officials have an ongoing dialogue about “rules of the road” meant to prevent collisions in regional waters, and US naval officials say there have been no new incidents between the two sides over the past year.

FT.com / Asia-Pacific - Japan protests over China military incident

Japanese Army Chief in India to boost defence ties

In an endeavor to boost defence cooperation between the two nations,General Yoshifumi Hibako, Chief of Staff, Japanese Ground Self Defence Forces, is currently on a four-day visit of India.

India and Japan share a global vision of peace and stability. A road map for developing cooperation in the defence and security was agreed to in the form of joint statement during the then defence minister Pranab Mukherjee's visit to Japan in 2006.

A 'Defence Policy Dialogue' has been established between the two countries and military to military Talks have also been institutionalized. Both the nations are committed to build on their strategic convergences and strengthen defence cooperation in mutually identified fields.

During his four days visit ending on February 16, General Hibako is scheduled to interact with senior officials of Indian armed forces and Ministry of Defence and discuss issues to enhance military cooperation.

This visit will further cement the historic ties between India and Japan, especially the military to military contacts, which are based on mutual trust and understanding.

Japanese Army Chief in India to boost defence ties

Japan ASDF F-15J intercept Chinese PLAN Coast Guard Y-8

U.S. and Japan stage joint drill amid regional tensions

U.S. and Japanese forces began military maneuvers on Friday, heaping pressure on North Korea which Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said posed an “immediate threat” to the region and a long-term threat to the world. South Korea, which joined U.S. forces in military drills this week days after North Korea shelled a South Korean island, has for the first time joined the maneuvers as an observer as the three countries seek to rein in the reclusive North. Two marines and two civilians were killed in the attack on Yeonpyeong, prompting a return of fire by the South minutes later, ramping up tension between the two sides that have technically been at war since their 1950-53 conflict which ended in a truce, not a treaty. The exercises that began on Friday will involve about 44,500 military personnel from both countries in waters east of the southern island of Okinawa, home to a controversial U.S. military base, and elsewhere. About 60 ships, including the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington and 400 aircraft, will take part in eight days of drills. “North Korea poses an immediate threat to the region around us, particularly to South Korea and Japan,” Clinton said in the Kyrgyzstan capital Bishkek, according to a transcript released by the State Department. “It poses a medium-term threat if it were to collapse to China, because of refugees and other instability. And it poses a long-term threat to the entire world, because of its nuclear program, and its export of weapons around the world.” She said South Korea had exercised “great restraint.” CHINA ROLE The United States has been pushing China, North Korea’s only major ally, to bring the reclusive country to heel. China has refused to blame North Korea for last week’s attack, or for the earlier sinking of a South Korean naval vessel. A team international investigators said the North torpedoed the ship. On Wednesday, South Korea’s spy chief said it was highly likely the North would attack its wealthy neighbor again. China, which said it would not play favorites in the dispute, has proposed emergency talks of the six countries — the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States — involved in North Korean denuclearization negotiations. Only Russia has given its support. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu responded to criticism that China was not doing enough with a thinly disguised slap at the U.S.-South Korea military maneuvers.