Japan warns of rising tensions over Chinese military deployments near Taiwan

Japan's yearly evaluation of security risks, which includes those posed by neighbors China, North Korea, and Russia, comes as Taiwan closely monitors Chinese air and sea maneuvers, including one involving an aircraft carrier in the surrounding Pacific.

"Because of that increase in military activity, we cannot discount the possibility of heightened tensions," Japan stated for the first time in its annual Defense White Paper.

The drills are the most recent in a sequence that included maneuvers in the Taiwan Strait last year, which a senior US general predicted would be critical to any invasion.

Tokyo's warning comes after NATO members meeting in Washington this week labeled China as a "decisive enabler" of Russia's war in Ukraine, claiming that Beijing continues to pose systemic threats to Europe and security. Beijing reacted strongly to the comments.

Japan is concerned that a crisis in Taiwan will spread to its territory.

Japan's westernmost island is barely 68 miles from Taiwan, and it is home to over 50,000 American troops, hundreds of military aircraft, and an aircraft carrier strike group that Washington might use to defend Taiwan.

Japan's 548-page review also emphasized China's aspirations to quadruple its nuclear arsenal to more than 1,000 bombs by 2030.