Japan’s moves to take a more “proactive” security role in Asia, outlined by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s offer on Friday to supply Vietnam and the Philippines with naval patrol vessels, has brought a wary response from China, which is embroiled in maritime disputes with the three countries.
Mr. Abe, speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Friday, a key regional security meet attended by defence ministers and military officials from the region as well as the United States, outlined a new and ambitious vision for Japan to play “an even greater and more proactive role than it has until now” in Asia.
Altering the status quo
While not directly referring to China through much of his address, the clear message from Mr. Abe was that his government was willing to play a more prominent role amid rising maritime disputes involving China and Asean countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines.
Japan, he said, will offer “its utmost support for the efforts of the countries of Asean as they work to ensure the security of the seas and the skies, and thoroughly maintain freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight”.
In another apparent reference to China, which is also involved in disputes with Japan over disputed East China Sea islands, Mr. Abe criticised “attempts to change the status quo through force or coercion” and said there “clearly… exist elements that spawn instability”.
Nationalist ego, says China
His remarks drew a sharp response from Beijing on Saturday.
“Listening to him, you can easily sense his nationalist ego behind the thin veil,” said People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Major General Yao Yunzhu, director of the Center on China-American Defense Relations at the Academy of Military Science, who is also attending the dialogue.
In his address, Mr. Abe drew attention to concerns among some countries in the region of an increasingly assertive approach from China to territorial disputes, saying it was “the least desirable state of affairs… to fear that coercion and threats will take the place of rules and laws”.
He also offered support to Vietnam, which has recently clashed with China over the sinking of one of its fishing vessels and the deployment of a Chinese oil rig in disputed waters, and the Philippines, which has also sparred with Beijing over competing claims in the South China Sea. Japan will offer the Philippines 10 patrol vessels, and will also offer vessels to Vietnam, he said.
Mr. Abe specifically highlighted Japan’s close security ties with the U.S. and Australia, and also said he was eager to build both bilateral cooperation with India and closer three-way ties with India and the U.S. when he “welcomes Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Tokyo”.
China’s official Xinhua news agency in a commentary on Saturday accused Mr. Abe of “trying to divide Asian countries and stoke flare-ups in the region”. It called on countries in the region to “not be swayed by negative influences. China shall also be confident enough to stick to its long-term pursuit of peace and stability through mutually-beneficial cooperation, including cooperative management of disputes.
China-Asean ties
Even as China has sparred with the Vietnam and the Philippines, it has in recent months sought closer ties with other Asean countries, with both President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang visiting the region late last year in a charm offensive, pledging billions of dollars in trade and investment.
Only on Friday, Mr. Xi hosted Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in Beijing. On China’s approach to the contested South China Sea, he said, “We will never stir up trouble, but will react in the necessary way to the provocations of countries involved.”
