BEIJING/TOKYO: China today reacted warily to Japan establishing a new amphibious special unit, saying Tokyo 's military moves were being followed closely by its Asian neighbours "for historical reasons. "Japan and China have a long history of territorial disputes over islands in the East China Sea , in particular a rocky, uninhabited island chain known as the Diaoyu Islands in Beijing and the Senkaku in Tokyo.The Japanese Self Defense Force debuted their newly formed Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (ARDB) on Saturday, at a military display near Sasebo, on the southwestern tip of Kyushu Island.About 1,500 members of the new unit conducted a public exercise, camouflaged with khaki stripes, imitating recapturing a Japanese island from an invading army. The unit gives Japan its first marine troops since World War II.In an editorial, Chinese state media tabloid Global Times said Asia needed to watch Japan's "militarism revival. "China resolutely defends its territorial sovereignty and any attempt to infringe upon China's sovereignty over Diaoyu Islands will be futile," Lu said according to state-run Xinhua news agency.Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has long sought to change his country's pacifist constitution, adopted after World War II, to allow Japan to maintain armed forces.Currently Japan has a military known as the Self-Defense Forces, but the constitution bars it from "the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes. "But Japan's military revival is controversial in the Asian region, particularly in China and South Korea, due to deep sensitivities about the country's role in World War II.

Source: Economic Times April 09, 2018 15:22 UTC