Japan on Tuesday released its annual defense white paper, saying it is concerned about what it called China's potentially dangerous maritime activities.

The white paper for 2013 released by the Defense Ministry also expressed concern over the nuclear and missile development programs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), saying the country's ballistic missiles are potentially capable of reaching the U.S. mainland.

The report is the first issued under the government of conservative Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Kyodo News Agency says the report emphasizes key issues that could threaten Japanese sovereignty in view of what it terms as an increasingly assertive China and unpredictable DPRK.

Japan has been gradually ratcheting up its expressions of concern about Beijing's military activities.

Citing a January incident in which Japan says a Chinese navy frigate locked weapons radar on a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer in the East China Sea, the white paper, approved by Abe's Cabinet on Tuesday, criticized Beijing for denying use of the radar and accused it of giving false explanations over the incident, according to Kyodo.

Beijing has consistently dismissed the Japanese government's complaints about radar-locking as groundless.

The white paper also touches on the possibility of enabling Japan to attack an enemy base as an effective "deterrence" against ballistic missile threats.

The paper says that in the security environment, the Japan-U.S. bilateral security alliance is essential and the deployment in Okinawa of the MV-22 Osprey aircraft will contribute to peace and stability in the region.

The paper also includes other topics such as cyber security an area which Japan thinks as necessary to improve to counter cyber attacks.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)