Japan’s annual Defense White Paper says that the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’s) military and navy procedures need to be more transparent, as all Japan can see is loads of money going in under the big vague header of military expenses.
There is much for Japan to be concerned about.
A large-scale naval base with underground tunnels for nuclear-powered submarines is reportedly being constructed in the city of Sanya, at the southern tip of Hainan Island—a strategically important location that has access to the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.
The Japanese report cited a 2011 U.S. report concerning the addition by the PRC in 2003 of the media, legal, and psychological warfare to its arsenal.
Media warfare will use public opinion to build support for China’s military. Legal warfare will use laws to gain support and minimize any potential political repercussions. Psychological warfare will shock and demoralize an enemy to undermine the ability to fight.
The PRC has been unclear about the intentions of its activities in space.
A 2011 PRC defense white paper insisted that all activities in space were peaceful. But a report from 2006 stated that major scientific and technological projects in space were being developed to improve defense. The director of the PLA’s Armament Department is said to be in charge of the entire space program.
Japan’s report said that it’s a matter of concern for the international community that China is expanding its military and naval powers without much transparency. It called for Japan to pay attention to the sea for future developments and for the matter to be carefully analyzed.
“There are incidents that incite concerns over China’s military decision making and actions.” The paper says, naming the unexplained Chinese nuclear-powered submarine that illegally went into Japanese waters in November 2004, and an anti-satellite weapons test in January 2007 that worried Japan and wasn’t explained either.
Japan has also observed PRC naval vessels conducting what appeared to be training exercises or data gathering activities in nearby waters.
The Japanese paper quotes from the Taiwan Defense Report of 2011, that although cross-strait talks have relaxed relations, the PRC’s “objective to unify Taiwan has not changed. As the military strength of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait become even more imbalanced, we are bound face growingly severe military threats.”
The PRC’s largest weapons supplier, Russia, exports highly sophisticated weapons to China while the communist nation develops its domestic weapon production industry. But Russia has a policy of not supplying weapons that would pose a threat to itself, according to the Japanese report.
On the other hand, the European Union has imposed arms embargoes on China since the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989. At every diplomatic opportunity, the PRC strongly requests the embargoes be lifted.
The Japanese report foresees that the European debt crisis may make the EU more eager to lift the embargoes and it calls for Japan to pay continuous attention to the matter.
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