Chinese state-run media on Monday slammed a reported plan by Tokyo to develop a new land-to-sea missile and place it on remote southern islands, saying the move would make Japanese military sites there a "target" for Chinese forces.
The Global Times newspaper, known for its ardently nationalist stance, said in an editorial that the deployment "could threaten all Chinese ships in the waters" of the disputed Senkaku Islands, known as Diaoyu in China, which are just 170 km away.
The Yomiuri Shimbun reported Sunday that Tokyo would deploy the missile, with a range of 300 km, to islands such as Miyako in Okinawa Prefecture, which lies near a strategic gateway to the Pacific for China. The Yomiuri did not cite its sources.