On Monday, a radar station on Japan's Yonaguni Island manned by about 160 Self-Defense Forces personnel came into service, about 150 kilometers from the Diaoyu Islands.

On Tuesday, Japan's controversial new national security laws, which allow the SDF to engage in combat overseas and exercise "collective self-defense", took effect. They are said to be indispensable for a more "proactive" Japan aspiring for greater contributions to global "peace and security".

In theory, and in the official rhetoric, neither move is targeted specifically at China.