The flags of the US and China fly outside the building of a US company in Beijing on Jan. 21 last year. At the same time, China is setting its sights on the Pacific, raising alarm that it might station troops beyond the second island chain after signing a security agreement with the Solomon Islands, it added. Meanwhile, at the committee meeting yesterday, bureau Director-General Chen Ming-tong (陳明通) was asked about Japan’s role in scenarios outlined in the reports. The islands are claimed by Taiwan, China and Japan. If China militarizes these islands, as it has done with others in the South China Sea, it would pose a direct threat to Japan, he said.
