WorldBEIJING, AFP -China is “disappointed to the point of despair” with Japan's conduct in the South China Sea, it said Monday, after Tokyo announced it may set up training patrols with the US in the contested region. Inada said Japan would increase its engagement in the South China Sea through joint training cruises with the US Navy, exercises with regional navies and capacity-building assistance to coastal nations. Japan has a separate territorial dispute with China over uninhabited islets in the East China Sea. Last week, China sailed four coastguard vessels into that contested region, sparking complaints from Japan that the Asian giant was escalating tensions. Japan is a key US ally, and is boosting defence ties with the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations that have their own territorial disputes with Beijing over the South China Sea.

Source: Sunday Times September 19, 2016 11:03 UTC