Why China’s PLA is wary of Japanese submarine and missile strengths

Japan’s submarine fleet could prove a major strategic headache for China, military analysts have said, as Tokyo moves to strengthen its armed forces.

The two Asian powers have become embroiled in one of their most serious diplomatic crises in years after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said earlier this month that an armed attack against Taiwan could be seen as a “survival-threatening situation” that would justify Japan deploying its military.

Her remarks were the most explicit by a sitting Japanese prime minister on how Tokyo might respond to a crisis in the Taiwan Strait and marked a departure from Japan’s traditional strategic ambiguity – a position also maintained by its main ally, the United States.

Beijing reacted angrily, taking a series of economic countermeasures, while Takaichi has refused to retract her remarks.

Meanwhile, Tokyo announced plans to deploy medium-range missiles to Yonaguni, a tiny island less than 110km (70 miles) from Taiwan.

China also accused Japan of “deliberately creating regional tensions” and said it would not allow “Japanese militarism to rise from the ashes”.