China may overtake Japan in naval power this year: report

Since Xi Jinping became China’s top leader, there has been a noticeable change in the country’s foreign policy, according to Duowei News, an outlet run by overseas Chinese.

Beijing has implemented a shift in the geopolitical focus of its global strategy, which has seen the relationship with the US and with the European Union displaced as first priority ties for the country. At the same time, China has strengthened its sea power, with many speculating that the power of the PLA Navy is set to overtake that of Japan in 2015.

At the end of November, as the US was scrambling to find a way to contain Russia, a low-profile but important meeting was being held in Beijing — the Central Conference on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs. At the meeting several leaders made key speeches that indicated a change in China’s external geopolitical strategy.

Japan builds two cutters to defend Diaoyutai as Abe seeks Xi meeting

Japan launched two 1,500-ton cutters last month that will be deployed in late October to defend the country’s administration of the disputed Diaoyutai (Senkaku or Diaoyu) islands, at a time when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is seeking an official meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping during the APEC summit in Beijing next month, according to the Tokyo-based Asahi Shimbun.