Rising Tensions in the East China Sea
China's Xi Jinping professed in 2012, shortly before he was elected president, that the Chinese dream is "the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation." Since then, China has sought to become a naval power and expanded its law enforcement agency and authorized to use weapons to it. China must secure free access to the Pacific Ocean in order to acquire maritime interests, but Japan's Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea are an obstacle. China is engaging in wolf-warrior diplomacy to ensure its control and/or occupation of the Senkaku Islands. The Japan-U.S. 2+2 meeting on January 12, this year, confirmed that Article 5 of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty will apply to the Senkaku Islands in opposition to China's growing attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force in the East China Sea.
There is a possibility of confrontation between law enforcement ships in the waters surrounding the Senkaku Islands, and it could trigger a clash between vessels of the Japan Self-defense Force and PLA Navy. And there are serious concerns that it will escalate into a large-scale military conflict involving the United States and Taiwan in the region.
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