Government officials and experts say Japan’s confirmation last month that its coast guard can legally fire against any foreign vessel that it believes is aiming to disembark on the Senkaku Islands will boost Tokyo’s deterrence against Beijing.
Ruling Liberal Democratic Party members have been seeking to formulate a counterstrategy since Beijing implemented a law on Feb. 1 allowing its coast guard to use weapons against foreign ships that China deems to be illegally entering its waters.
Unable to view this article?
This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software.
Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.
If this does not resolve the issue or you are unable to add the domains to your allowlist, please see this support page.
We humbly apologize for the inconvenience.
In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
SUBSCRIBE NOW
PHOTO GALLERY (CLICK TO ENLARGE)
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.