China's increased maritime activities in the East and South China Seas to protect what it calls its "core interests" are causing friction with other countries and destabilizing the security environment in the region. The 2013 Defense Ministry's white paper underlines Japan's concern about China's maritime activities around the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. It states that such activities could trigger a crisis and calls on Beijing to act in accordance with international rules rather than to use force.
Japan should be adequately prepared for worst-case scenarios, but it should also take utmost care to not provoke China and further raise tensions. It should deal with China in a coolheaded manner and work to repair the damage to bilateral ties caused by the nationalization of three of the five Senkaku islets in September 2012. To this end, Japan should deepen contact with China at various levels, including contact between defense officials, to prevent an emergency situation from developing.
Referring to repeated intrusion in Japanese territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands and increased airspace incursions by Chinese ships and aircraft, the white paper calls these activities "dangerous actions that could cause a contingency situation" and said that they are "extremely regrettable." It also states that "China has attempted to change the status quo by force based on its own assertion, which is incompatible with the existing order of international law."