By Lin Tsuei-yi / Staff reporter in TOKYO
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Japan’s Defense White Paper released yesterday highlighted Taiwan Strait security as a major concern, saying China has expanded military activities around Taiwan, used repeated drills to normalize the presence of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), and strengthened blockade, precision strike, and joint operation capabilities.Chinese military aircraft entering Taiwan’s surrounding airspace surpassed 3,700 sorties last year, a sharp increase from about 970 in 2021, the paper said, adding that Chinese naval activity around Taiwan also rose to about 2,600 sorties.Since 2022, Beijing has repeatedly conducted large-scale military drills around Taiwan, said the paper, which is titled Security for the Future.
The cover of the Defense of Japan white paper is pictured in an undated photograph.
The “Strait Thunder-2025A” exercise last year highlighted blockade-related operations, including warnings, isolation, prevention and seizure measures, while the “Justice Mission-2025” drills in December featured long-range live-fire exercises and designated no-sail zones encircling Taiwan, it said.China might avoid immediately declaring a formal naval blockade, instead using coast guard vessels to enforce a “gray zone” blockade through law enforcement actions, inspections and isolation measures, the paper said.
