Chinese naval helicopter flies close to Japanese naval vessels, Beijing says it was a ‘necessary defence measure’ against Japanese surveillance activities; Taiwan and Japan sign MOU to advance cooperation across different fields;
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    • Analysts noted that the appeasement policy towards China being followed by the administration of PM Yukio Hatoyama was likely responsible for aggressive Chinese naval activities in the seas around Japan. A Chinese Navy helicopter reportedly approached close to Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers on two occasions in April.1 Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa stated that Beijing informed Tokyo that one of its navy helicopters flew around a Japanese destroyer off Okinawa Prefecture as a "necessary defense measure" in response to Japanese surveillance activities.2

    Taiwan and Japan signed a memorandum of understanding to advance cooperation and exchanges across a wide range of sectors, including economic, legal, cultural, security, environmental, technological and scholastic ties. The development signified an improvement in their bilateral cooperation after a period of tension stemming from competing sovereignty claims. The MOU was signed between Taiwan's East Asia Relations Commission and Japan's mission in Taiwan, the Interchange Association.3

    More than 90,000 Okinawans staged a protest over the proposed relocation of a US Marine Corps airbase. Reports noted that the development could have implications for ability of US to effectively balance Chinese naval power in East Asia and was indicative of the strain in US-Japan relations following the election of Mr. Hatoyama’s Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).4 Reports also noted that the US rejected the idea of relocating the Futenma base to Tokunoshima Island, as favored by the Hatoyama administration.5

    In other developments, Japan has decided to open its first overseas army base in the strategically located African state of Djibouti, at the southern end of the Red Sea on the Gulf of Aden, to counter rising piracy in the region. The $40 million base is expected to be completed by early 2011 and is part of international efforts to curb pirate attacks by gunmen from Somalia.6

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