Japan ocean policy vows tougher security amid China threat

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japan has adopted a new five-year ocean policy that calls for stronger maritime security, including bolstering its coast guard’s capability and cooperation with the military amid China’s increasing assertiveness in regional seas. The new Basic Plan on Ocean Policy adopted by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet also says Japan must accelerate the development of autonomous underwater vehicles and remotely operated robots to bolster its surveillance capability. The policy is in line with the new national security strategy that Kishida’s government adopted in December in a major break from Japan’s self-defense-only principle that the country has maintained under the postwar pacifist constitution.