China deploys armed navy vessel near Japan exclusion zone

TOKYO, Dec. 30 (UPI) — China deployed an armed former navy warship and two other ships near a 12-mile exclusion zone claimed by Japan, a move that is contributing to a rise in tensions in the East China Sea.

The ships were equipped with gun turrets and were being operated by the Chinese coast guard Saturday, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official told Bloomberg Wednesday.

Japan has filed an official complaint with China over the incident, and the ships are appearing at a time when more countries in the region, including the United States, have criticized Beijing for its unilateral land reclamation activities in the South China Sea.

China had suggested Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe keep away from the South China Sea dispute for various reasons, and the deployment of navy frigates to Japan’s exclusion zone could be sending a message to Tokyo.

“China doesn’t want Japan to meddle in the South China Sea,” said Giulio Pugliese, a professor at the University of Heidelberg’s Institute of Chinese Studies. “China’s engagement in the East China Sea and its constabulary build-up remind Japan of the risks of stretching out its naval presence to distant Southeast Asian waters.”

Tensions between Japan and China are likely to escalate in 2016.

The Financial Times reported Japan could be taking an indirect path to strengthening its security in maritime regions closer to the disputed Spratly Islands, where China has been building airstrips for either civilian or military use.

Japan has been working on re-cultivating the coral reef on Okinotorishima, an atoll in the Philippine Sea that Japan recognizes as its southernmost point.

Hideaki Kaneda, a retired vice-admiral at Japan’s Okazaki Institute, said the atoll could play a crucial role in Japan’s security.

Kaneda said it would be a crucial site “for the Chinese military to deny access to reinforcements coming from the east.”

The FT reported Japan hopes to claim Okinotorishima as an island with its own EEZ.