Overview

• The Japanese Defense Ministry brands China’s military modernization and expanded patrols an “unprecedented” security challenge.
• The white paper cautions that Beijing could use gray-zone tactics, including potential blockades and coercive measures, to pressure Taiwan.
• Japan plans to reinterpret Article 9 to permit collective self-defense, develop counterstrike capabilities and raise its defense budget to 2 percent of GDP by 2027.
• The report highlights a surge in Chinese coast guard ships around the disputed Senkaku Islands and frequent PLA naval transits between Yonaguni Island and Taiwan.
• China and North Korea have lodged formal protests accusing Japan of reviving militarism and serving a U.S.-led regional strategy.