February 4, 2015

"Security in the South China Sea, claimed almost wholly by China, impacts Japan's interests and could warrant a rethink of military patrol aircraft deployments, the defense minister said after a U.S. Navy officer said Washington would welcome a Japanese presence in the region.

Regular patrols by Japanese aircraft only reach into the East China Sea, where Japan andChina are embroiled in a sovereignty dispute over a group of islands. Extending flights into the South China Sea would almost certainly increase tension between the world's second- and third-largest economies."

Read more:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/04/us-southchinasea-japan-idUSKBN0L80JZ20150204