Chinese Frigates Locking Radar on Japanese Vessels; Relations Fray Further

The rival governments of China and Japan have long argued over the rightful ownership of a cluster of islands in the East China Sea, which are legally in Japanese hands, and legally called the Senkaku Islands, but recent actions taken by Beijing have the Japanese and international observers worried.

Worried about possible military escalation.

And for good reason with what the BBC is reporting today: last week a Chinese frigate locked its' weapon-targeting radar on a nearby Japanese Naval vessel and just the week before that on a helicopter. Raising the stakes over this cluster of islands and risking a potential deadly mistake for misguiding military supremacy.

This comes five months after the Japanese government purchased the islands from private owners and the Chinese responded by deploying six surveillance ships into disputed waters, violating the sovereignty of Japanese territorial waters. These actions indicate a growing willingness by Chinese authorities to use their growing naval might to harass their neighbors over territorial disputes, along with attempting to establish their regional supremacy.

The Japanese have protested to Beijing over their blatantly hostile and downright risky actions over the past couple of weeks, as one wrong button could have resulted in the unintentional assault on a Japanese vessel, which would have led to possible reprisal and China's attempt to bully to backfire.

As I wrote several months ago on this same subject: "this demonstrates the Chinese government is feeling confident enough to start asserting their claims and authority over disputed islands with their neighbors, most of which are weak militarily and rely heavily on the United States for protection, and that we could see the beginning of Sino imperialism in South West Asia."

What say you?