China as a Focal Point of Japan's Security Strategy

Abstract

The article is devoted to Japan's modern security policy towards China. To date, both countries have become the main trade and economic partners for each other, but at the same time there has been a significant deterioration in political ties between them. The degree of conflict in Sino-Japanese relations has risen sharply in the past decade, despite the consistent efforts of Tokyo and Beijing to improve bilateral ties through political and diplomatic measures. A growing concern in Japan is China's offensive naval activity in the East and South China Seas, which are regarded by Tokyo as a sphere of its vital interests. The most acute points of confrontation between the two countries to date have become the situations around the Senkaku Islands and Taiwan, which are fraught with the transition to an armed clash. With the adoption by Tokyo in December 2022 of a new National Security Strategy, China has actually been elevated to the rank of the main military threat to Japan. In order to eliminate the "Chinese threat", Tokyo, in accordance with the said Strategy, has embarked on an accelerated build-up of its own military potential, making it more offensive in nature. At the same time, with an eye on China, there is a qualitative and quantitative strengthening of Japan's military cooperation within the framework of a security treaty with the United States. Along with this, Japan is striving to create a network of bilateral and multilateral alliances with an anti-Chinese orientation in the Asia-Pacific region. In addition, to confront China in the region, Tokyo is not only actively trying to win over non-regional players, primarily NATO countries, but also intends to establish cooperation with the North Atlantic Alliance at the institutional level. Such activity by Tokyo, aimed at containing China in the field of security, is strongly opposed in Beijing.