APA N REVIEW

We look at largely the projection of military assets over the course of the past decade, and you’ll find that, on the whole, the number of ships, say for example in the South Sea Fleet, and right now the Navy of the Southern Theater Command has generally been hovering around the same numbers. [...] But what are the risks of China’s engagement in the Pacific, both to the West and the Pacific Island countries themselves? I break down the risks of Chinese engagement in the Pacific into two categories. [...] Challenges Therefore, in addition to strengthening its defense of the southwestern region and boosting the Self-Defense Forces’ presence in the South China Sea and Indian Ocean, Japan is also responding to Chinese forays by seeking to establish the rule of law in the seas and by helping capacity building in littoral states, based on the ideas set out in the free and open Indo-Pacific. [...] This paper considers the measures that Japan should take to respond more effectively to China’s expansion into the Indian and Pacific Oceans through these nine straits, and the policies it should take to maintain the stability of its sea lanes and the international order based on the law of the sea. [...] For example, in December 2016 a Chinese carrier passed through the Miyako Strait then navigated through the Bashi Channel and entered the South China Sea, before passing through the Strait of Taiwan and sailing toward the East China Sea.5 In April 2018, a Chinese carrier navigated from the South China Sea through the Bashi Channel into the Pacific, and from the Miyako Strait into the 2 Ministry of.