The September collision between a Chinese fishing vessel and two Japanese patrol ships off the Senkaku Islands of Okinawa Prefecture has caused Japan-China relations to greatly deteriorate. Placing Japan's ties with its big neighbor on a stable path is a major diplomatic task that must be fulfilled this year.
In 2010, the Chinese navy expanded its activities beyond the line linking Okinawa, Taiwan and the Philippines into the western Pacific. China also has enhanced its surveying activities inside its exclusive economic zone and fisheries supervision around the Senkaku Islands.
Japan's new National Defense Program, which was adopted in December and will serve as a guideline for the nation's defense policy for the next 10 years, characterizes China's rapid military buildup and modernization and naval actions as a "matter of concern for the region and the international community."