The rapidly deteriorating security situation last year prompted Tokyo to announce an emergency 26 per cent increase in the nation’s defence budget.īeijing, which is itself in the midst of the most intense military build-up since World War II, reacted with outrage. The long-defunct Ryukyu Kingdom once paid tribute to appease the Qing empire.īeijing has made similar use of this historic subservience as justification for other Ryukyu Island disputes with Tokyo. “Its real purpose is to arm the islands with anti-air and anti-ship missiles and prepare for a military intervention in the Taiwan question.”īut Tokyo is suspicious of the true extent of China’s ambitions over its own territories.Ĭommunist Party commentators point to the island of Okinawa and its 1.4 million population as “historical subjects” of Imperial China. “It is a very provocative move aimed at China,” Communist Party military analyst Wei Dongxu told the Global Times of the missile deployments. These must pass through the Miyako Strait.īeijing accuses Tokyo of preparing to assist Taiwan in the event of a conflict. It has also increased the size and tempo of similar naval encirclement operations. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has begun regular “encirclement” flights of Taiwan to demonstrate its ability to blockade the island democracy. Picture: 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters via AP Department of Defense, Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2020, August 21, 2020, pp. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute), September 2007. A Chinese coast guard vessel sails near disputed East China Sea islands. Right-Sizing the People’s Liberation Army: Exploring the Contours of China’s Military (Carlisle, PA: U.S.
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