Japan to prioritise security reforms amid rising Chinese "Hybrid Threats," NSB warns in report to legislature

Taipei [Taiwan] November 23 (ANI): Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government is expected to focus on security reforms and deterrence due to recent "hybrid" threats posed by China, as reported by the National Security Bureau (NSB) in a statement cited by the Taipei Times.

The bureau provided a written assessment to the Legislative Yuan before an oral report and a question-and-answer session at the legislature's Foreign Affairs and National Defence Committee.

Japan's security reform agenda is set to strengthen security collaboration with the US, including bolstering defence deployments within the first island chain, advancing integrated command and operations of the Japan Self-Defence Forces alongside US Forces Japan, and expanding the military presence in the Nansei Islands, according to the Taipei Times report.

Furthermore, anchored in the US-Japan alliance, Japan may amplify coordinated efforts with South Korea, the Philippines, and Australia, jointly develop maritime capabilities, enhance cooperation with the EU and NATO, and establish a regional collective defence network amongst allies to reinforce deterrence against China, the bureau stated, as reported by the Taipei Times.

From October 26 to the following Monday, Japan and the US, along with their allies, conducted eight joint military training sessions or exercises, the NSB noted. Takaichi's remarks to the National Diet on November 7, indicating that a Taiwan contingency could constitute a "situation threatening Japan's survival" if it entails China using force, have triggered a backlash from Beijing, leading to a series of retaliatory actions against Japan.

These responses included a Chinese diplomat's comment perceived by many as a threat to decapitate Takaichi, a live-fire exercise in the Yellow Sea, and various economic measures. The NSB's report highlighted that the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) exertion of "hybrid" pressure on Japan and attempts to portray Japanese diplomats as "bowing and obeying orders" in Beijing have attracted international scrutiny, as the Taipei Times emphasised.

The CCP's coercive actions have underscored that the "Taiwan contingency" is not merely a bilateral issue between Japan and China but also pertains to the safety of the Indo-Pacific region and the stability of the global order, the report stated. On the diplomatic front, remarks deemed threatening from China's Taiwan Affairs Office and the Chinese Ministry of National Defence, along with the cancellation of a scheduled meeting this month between the cultural ministers of Japan, South Korea, and China, were noted by the NSB, as reported by the Taipei Times.

China has cautioned its citizens against travelling to or studying in Japan and has halted cultural exchanges and seafood imports. In terms of "gray zone" tactics and military activities, Beijing has intensified its coast guard operations in waters within 12 nautical miles (22.2 km) of the Diaoyutai Islands, referred to as the Senkaku Islands in Japan, and has conducted artillery and live-fire exercises in the Yellow Sea, the report stated.

The CCP is expected to persist in its "economic and trade coercion, narrative control, and 'grey zone' harassment" tactics, while also attempting to entice Japan's opposition parties to create internal discord and pressure the Japanese business sector to influence the government, as noted in the Taipei Times report. (ANI)

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