Japan vigilant about China's military buildup: white paper

Japan is vigilant against China's military buildup and North Korea's nuclear and missile development programs amid what it considers a worsening security environment, an overview of the Defense Ministry's white paper for 2013 showed Tuesday.

Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force soldiers disembark from a US Marine MV-22 Osprey during a US-Japan joint military drill at the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base, Calif, in Feb. Japanese troops will converge on California's southern coast in the next two weeks, the middle of June 2013, as part of a military exercise with US troops aimed at improving that country's amphibious attack abilities.

The ministry says a lack of transparency in Chinese military and security affairs is "a concern" for the region and the international community, as the world's second-largest economy has quadrupled its defense budget over the past decade.

The latest annual paper, a summary of which was presented at a meeting of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, is expected to be approved by the Cabinet soon.

China has continued to send ships to waters near the Senkaku Islands since Japan purchased major parts of the islets last year. The uninhibited islands are administered by Japan, but claimed by China, and have been at the center of heightened tensions between Tokyo and Beijing.

In such a situation, the ministry considers it important to beef up the capabilities of the Self-Defense Forces to dispatch troops to remote areas and conduct joint drills with the U.S. military to prepare the SDF to recapture any lost control of remote islands, according to the summary.

On North Korea, which has been defying international pressure to denuclearize, the ministry predicts the country's dependence on the military will continue, and says Japan cannot tolerate Pyongyang's nuclear and missile development, which "greatly impairs peace and stability" in the world.

As the United States has been trying to cut spending due to its poor fiscal health, Japan is closely watching how it will affect its strategy in Asia, according to the summary.

It also said the U.S. military's MV-22 Osprey aircraft will greatly contribute to peace and stability in the region as they are expected to strengthen U.S. deterrence, despite strong local opposition to their deployment in Japan.

==Kyodo

Copyright 2013 Kyodo News International.

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