Chinese naval vessels entered the contiguous zone around the Senkaku Islands, with China’s Ministry of Defense justifying the move as monitoring Japanese Self-Defense Force ships.
Following earlier strategic bomber flights near Japan in 2017, these actions signaled an escalation of China’s military posture toward Japan.
Sekihei warns that Beijing has effectively elevated the Senkaku dispute to a military level.

What is extremely serious in this latest incident is that China has brought its military power to the forefront.
2018-01-28
Sekihei was born in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China, in 1962.
After graduating from the Department of Philosophy at Peking University, he served as a lecturer in philosophy at Sichuan University.
He came to Japan in 1988 and completed his doctoral course at the Graduate School of Cultural Studies at Kobe University in 1995.
While pursuing his research life at Kobe University, he visited Arashiyama at the invitation of a friend, encountered Japan and Shōbōgenzō, married a Japanese woman, and was naturalized as a Japanese citizen in 2007.
Arashiyama is one of my favorite places, and the year before last I visited it about 100 times in a single year.
As already mentioned, Sekihei and I encountered each other at Tōfuku-ji on a day when the autumn leaves were at their peak the year before last.
I feel a very close affinity with him and hold deep respect for him.
His writings are essential reading for all Japanese citizens.
The following is from his article published in the monthly magazine WiLL.

The Kojien Entry “Taiwan Is Part of China” Is a Big Lie
Sekihei

Japan and Taiwan, freed from the poisonous influence of the Sinic civilization sphere, can confront Xi Jinping’s dictatorship

The Xi Jinping Dictatorship
On January 10–11, 2018, Chinese submarines and warships entered Japan’s contiguous waters around the Senkaku Islands.
This was an extremely shocking and serious incident.
The Senkaku Islands are inherent territory of Japan.
In 2012, under the Yoshihiko Noda administration, Japan nationalized the Senkaku Islands, and since then Japan and China have continued to face each other around the area.
China deployed its Coast Guard, and Japan dispatched the Japan Coast Guard.
It was, so to speak, a confrontation between coast guards.
However, what is extremely serious in this latest incident is that China has brought its military power to the forefront.
These were unmistakably naval forces.
What was even more shocking was the statement at a press conference by China’s Ministry of National Defense, which claimed: “Since Japanese Self-Defense Force vessels entered the Senkaku Islands, we entered the area to monitor them.”
They openly admitted entering the contiguous waters of the Senkaku Islands.
Moreover, they clearly stated that it was a pursuit of Japanese Self-Defense Force vessels.
In principle, the waters around the Senkaku Islands are Japan’s territorial waters, so whether the Self-Defense Forces enter or not has nothing to do with China.
However, by openly declaring the “monitoring” of Japanese Self-Defense Force ships, China has effectively elevated the Japan-China dispute over the Senkaku Islands to a military level.
From now on, China will likely contest the Senkaku issue with Japan backed by military power.
Another important incident occurred in August 2017.
Six Chinese strategic bombers flew over the waters off the Kii Peninsula.
There are neither U.S. bases nor major Self-Defense Force bases around the Kii Peninsula.
Instead, the Keihanshin region, home to many ordinary citizens, lies there.
The actions of the Chinese bombers were an overt military intimidation directed at civilians.
What lies behind China’s hardline posture?
To be continued.