Japan considers Taiwan, China in new defense report

By Lin Tsuei-yi / Staff reporter in TOKYO Add TT as Preferred Source 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