– USNI News – The commander of U.S. 7th Fleet said Japan should start patrolling the South China Sea and said China’s claims in the region are resulting in, “unnecessary friction” with neighbors.

– The Diplomat – An announcement that it would be procuring the MV-22 Osprey adds another element to a future amphibious marine force.

– Defense News – Japan’s response to Chinese anti-access/area-denial threats rest on three planks: increasingly large helicopter carriers, next-generation 3,300-ton Soryu-class submarines and new Aegis destroyers.

– USNI News – Japan’s largest warship since World War II has left for its first set of sea trials last week ahead of entering the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF)fleet next year.

– USNI News – Japan’s security environment is “increasingly severe”, according to the Ministry of Defense released its annual defense policy white paper. The report singles out China, Russia and North Korea as potential security threats involving cyber attacks, provocations on the high seas and nuclear weapons.

– War is Boring – Inside Japan’s helicopter destroyer ‘Ise’.

– USNI News – Japanese and Australian leaders plan to sign an agreement that would clear the way for the two countries to collaborate on a future submarine design as Japan seeks to export its military technology against the backdrop of a rising China.

– War is Boring – The Cold War history of Japan’s unarmed ocean surveillance ships and how it relates to today.

– USNI News – China is set to take “firm and effective actions,” in response to a planned move of anti-ship missiles by Japanese Self Defense Force closer to the disputed Senkaku Islands.

– USNI News – Leaders from Japan and Vietnam have signed an agreement to expand maritime security relations between the two countries against a backdrop of an expansionist China.

– The Diplomat – The U.S. and Japan will jointly develop a littoral combat ship (LCS) for quick intervention in shallow waters.

– Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force – apan’s New Destroyers Are Intentional Missile-Magnets – On March 12 and 13, the Japanese navy will receive the new Akizuki-class destroyers Suzutsuki and Fuyuzuki. The 6,800-ton warships bristle with weaponry—and for a reason. The two new destroyers are meant to draw enemy fire away from the larger Kongo-class vessels, Tokyo’s most sophisticated naval combatants. If they’re going to have any chance of surviving, the Akizukis need to be able to fight.

– USNI News – This week Japan approved its latest five-year defense plan. The Mid Term Defense Plan (MTDP) defines Japan’s defense policy and capabilities for 2014 to 2018. The Japanese Maritime Defense Force will increase in size.

– Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force – Japan boosts military forces to counter China – Japan’s cabinet has approved a new national security strategy and increased defence spending in a move widely seen as aimed at China.

– USNI News – Japan recently has been in the news as a result of several high-profile territorial incidents with its neighbor China. The incidents involve what Japanese call the Senkaku islands—the Diaoyu islands to the Chinese. Japan has legal ownership of the islands, which China disputes. The incidents have involved non-government activists and the coast guards of both nations, with many fearing an escalation could lead to some form of armed conflict. Spurred on by those developments, Japan has accelerated what have been until now quiet plans to develop a specialized unit of marine infantry.

– US Naval War College Review – A review of Japan’s current and upcoming amphibious capabilities.

– Defense News – Although the Japanese military does not have a stated strategy for countering Chinese anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) threats, analysts say its decades-long buildup of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities means it is increasingly able to play such a role.

– War is Boring – A skeptical look at Japan’s newest helicopter carrier.

– BBC – Japan has unveiled its largest warship since World War II, to be used in anti-submarine warfare and border-area surveillance missions.

– Medium – Tokyo’s aircraft carriers once ruled the waves; could they make a comeback?

– US Naval War College Review – A century later, as we observe the relative balance of economic and military powers shifting to Asia and the Pacific and Indian Oceans, Mahan’s teachings on geography are again instructive, as once seemingly insignificant bodies of water and island chains take on a new importance in regional security matters.

– BBC – Japan says it may release evidence to prove a Chinese naval frigate locked its fire-control radar onto a Japanese ship near disputed islands.

– BBC – Who do the Senkaku or Diaoyu Islands belong to? The short answer is I don’t know.

– Associated Press – Japanese military officials said they were keeping a close eye on seven Chinese warships spotted in waters off a southern island Tuesday. It was unclear whether the ship movements were related to a territorial dispute that has prompted both countries to show off their maritime muscles.

– Reuters – The United States and Japan are discussing system upgrades for a pair of Japanese destroyers to boost defenses against a ballistic missile attack.