China's Fortress Fleet-in-Being and its Implications for Japan's Security
This paper analyzes the rise of maritime China and its implications for Japan’s security policy.
In recent years, Chinese naval capabilities have been growing. Beijing aims to expand its maritime presence in the region, but also to limit the access of other fleets - primarily the US Navy - to its nearby waters. This Chinese anti-access/area-denial approach is analyzed here through the concepts of fortress fleet and fleet-in-being. Tokyo has reinforced its deterrence capability toward Chinese naval activities by setting up a more “dynamic defense” and concentrating efforts to protect its southwestern border. In addition to Japan’s efforts, the reinforcement of the alliance with the United States in the context of the American rebalancing toward Asia is also a major element in providing an effective response to Chinese maritime expansion. Despite his hawkish rhetoric, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would not change Japan’s security policy dramatically but rather seek communication with Beijing in order to ensure crisis management.
Also available in:
Regions and themes
ISBN / ISSN
Share
Download the full analysis
This page contains only a summary of our work. If you would like to have access to all the information from our research on the subject, you can download the full version in PDF format.
China's Fortress Fleet-in-Being and its Implications for Japan's Security
Related centers and programs
Discover our other research centers and programsFind out more
Discover all our analysesChina, technical standardization, and the future of globalization
As the global economy sits at a crossroad between connectivity-driven globalization and strategic decoupling, technical standardization provides a valuable measure of where we are headed.
Japan: Deciphering Prime Minister Ishiba’s Strategic Vision. Toward an Asian version of NATO?
On Tuesday, October 1, Shigeru Ishiba was sworn in as Prime Minister of Japan. His proposal to revise the security alliance with the United States and create an Asian version of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) attracted attention and sparked lively debate.
Critical Raw Materials, Economic Statecraft and Europe's Dependence on China
As China tightens export controls on critical minerals, it is important to put Beijing's policies in perspective and analyse how Europe can respond.
China’s Mature Node Overcapacity: Unfounded Fears
China is decoupling from, not flooding, the global mature-node semiconductor market. As China increasingly pursues industrial policies encouraging domestic chip production, its own growing chip demand will prevent a direct flood of cheap Chinese chips on foreign shores. However, as Beijing achieves its goal of decreasing the reliance of domestic downstream manufacturers on foreign chips, European and American mature-node semiconductor companies will feel the ripple effects of an increasingly “involuted” Chinese chip ecosystem.