Two days ago, an armed Chinese ship and two other vessels entered the waters north of Kuba Island and encroached on Japanese territorial waters starting at around 9:30 a.m. Kuba is part of the Senkakus which are at the center of a longstanding dispute between Beijing and Tokyo.
With massive infrastructure, nuclear and military deals, Japan has nudged India to take a militaristic stance in South China Sea that has China foaming in the mouth.
Late last month in “South Pacific Showdown? Japan May Send Warships To China Islands,” we documented a meeting between Japanese PM Shinzo Abe and Philippines President Benigno Aquino on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit held in Manila.
The two leaders discussed the possibility that Japan could provide Manila with “large ships” that the Philippines can use to patrol the South China Sea.
This was, of course, a direct response to China, whose land reclamation efforts in the Spratlys have ruffled more than a few feathers in the South Pacific.