JAPAN CLOSELY WATCHING CHINESE NAVY: DEFENSE WHITE PAPER
Central News Agency
2005-07-03 19:07:18
Tokyo, July 3 (CNA) As China's nuclear-powered submarines have increased their activities, Japan must watch the Chinese navy closely, according to the latest draft of Japan's defense white paper.
The Yomiuri Shimbun noted Sunday that the white paper has dedicated more pages than before to discussing China, including the fact that China's defense spending has been growing faster than its gross national product (GDP).
The defense white paper especially mentions China's defense spending growth at over 10 percent over the past consecutive 17 years, an indication of its aggressive defense strategy that has alarmed Japan.
An outline of the defense white paper says the Chinese navy has expanded its activities in order to assist the country's efforts to explore offshore gas and oil fields.
In light of this, the paper describes how Japan responded to an incident last November in which Chinese nuclear subs intruded into Japanese territorial waters.
It points out that Japanese people are concerned about Chinese activities in Japan's territorial seas and that therefore "it is important that China makes its military activities transparent."
The paper, which is scheduled to be discussed at a Cabinet meeting in August, also details Japanese concern about North Korea's nuclear weapons program and missile tests, as well as Japan's anti-missile attack efforts.
(By Amy Huang and S.C Chang)
ENDITEM/J
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