From Tokyo, the Japan Defense Research Institute, a think tank of The Japanese Ministry of Defense, released its annual report “East Asia Strategic Overview 2021,” which analyzes the security environment around Japan last year, on March 26. The report suggests that the confrontation between the U.S. and China has escalated to the level of the “New Cold War” under a new Epidemic. The report also expresses concern over intensified Chinese military exercises in the South China Sea and strong alarm over Chinese actions near the Diaoyu Islands (known in Japan as the Senkaku Islands).
In the 129-page Japanese version of the report, which focuses on the “new Cold War” between the U.S. and China, the report cites examples such as the launch of anti-ship ballistic missiles in the South China Sea last August, saying that the Chinese military has accelerated the strengthening of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) capabilities to deter U.S. military approaches.
According to the report, the Kyodo News reported that the Chinese Communist Party‘s military activities that consider threats and attacks against Taiwan have increased the possibility of untoward developments, further raising the Taiwanese public’s antipathy toward mainland China.
Around the situation on the Korean Peninsula, the report argues that North Korea is committed to drawing South Korea away from the United States, and writes that the Pyongyang authorities have continued to threaten South Korea through the launch of a short-range ballistic missile last March and the demolition of the inter-Korean liaison office in Kaesong in June. The report also expressed concern about the possibility of the North’s pre-emptive use of nuclear weapons.
The report noted with regard to South Korea that “attempts to eliminate inter-Korean confrontation in the face of North Korea’s assertive posture that could be called intimidation stand out.” The report advocates the importance of Japan-South Korea, U.S.-South Korea, and Japan-U.S.-South Korea cooperation in maintaining peace and stability in East Asia.
Also with regard to the Russian content, the report emphasizes that military cooperation between Russia and the Chinese Communist Party will continue to strengthen, citing examples of joint flights by bombers from both Chinese and Russian forces near Takeshima (known as Dokdo in South Korea) and in the Tsushima Strait last December. Among the items to strengthen the military system, the report also cited Russian military exercises last September that envisioned attacks by enemy landing forces on the four northern islands (known in Russia as the South Thousand Islands) and the Kuril Islands (Thousand Islands). The report analyzes one-year movements up to the end of December last year. This is the 25th release.
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