Japan defence white paper says China’s military ambitions ‘greatest strategic challenge’ to the world

Joint military activities around Japan by China and Russia are of “grave concern” and North Korea poses a greater threat than ever, Tokyo’s defence ministry said on Friday.

In its annual white paper, the ministry outlined its stance on issues from tensions around Taiwan to the intensifying rivalry between Beijing and the United States.

Repeated joint sorties by Chinese and Russian ships around Japan “are clearly intended as a demonstration of force against Japan and are a grave concern from the perspective of national security,” it said.

North Korea, meanwhile, which often conducts missile tests in Japan’s direction, poses a “more grave and imminent threat to Japan’s national security than ever before”.

In previous years, the defence paper has raised the need to counter regional threats including growing Chinese military clout and a nuclear-armed North Korea.

Japan plans to double its defence spending to the Nato standard of two per cent of GDP by 2027, although the falling value of the yen may dent its purchasing power.

It seems mainland China intends to make increased military activities around Taiwan a new normal for the region, said the paper, which also listed heightened defence risks associated with AI, cybersecurity and disinformation.

“The international community is facing its greatest trial since World War II and competition among states, especially between the US and China, and it is set to intensify,” the white paper said.

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