Tokyo has raised defence spending by a tenth over the past seven years to counter military advances by Beijing and Pyongyang, including defences against North Korean missiles which may carry nuclear warheads. North Korea has conducted a series of short-range missile launches that Tokyo believes show Pyongyang is developing projectiles to evade its Aegis ballistic missile defences.

But China’s looming presence is giving cause for concern across the Sea of Japan, according to Tokyo’s annual defence review which highlights how Beijing now routinely sends its air and sea patrols near Japan’s western Okinawa islands and into the Western Pacific.

China has frequently rebuffed concerns about its military spending and intentions, including a ramped-up presence in the disputed South China Sea, and insists it only desires peaceful development.

The Defence White Paper said Chinese patrols in waters and skies near Japanese territory are “a national security concern”.

Japan is trying to stay ahead of China’s rapidly-modernising military by buying in US-made stealth fighters and other advanced weapons.

In its latest budget request, Japan’s military asked for £1billion to buy nine Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighters, including six short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) variants to operate from converted helicopter carriers.

The stealth jets, US-made interceptor missiles and other equipment are part of a proposed 1.2 percent rise in defence spending.

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In comparison, Chinese military spending is set to rise this year by 7.5 percent with Beijing developing weapons such as stealth fighters and aircraft carriers that are helping it expand the range and scope of military operations.

Earlier this week it launched a new amphibious assault carrier in a move which defence analysts believe transformed the People’s Liberation Army Navy the minute it entered the water.

The warship allows marines to capture beaches and land supplies on enemy territory and will operate alongside an increasingly powerful fleet of aircraft carriers, air defence destroyers and underwater drones.

The massive 35,000-ton Type 075 Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD), which was launched from the Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard in Shanghai, has a large flat deck for helicopters, several lifts for aircraft and equipment and a long narrow runway.

Defence analysts described the vessel as a “game-changer” in the increasingly tense South East Asian region.

Japan has become increasingly jumpy in recent months and a recent series of short-range missile tests by North Korea, which US President Donald Trump dismissed as unimportant, has prompted a growing sense of unease.

Former defence chief Takeshi Iwaya said Pyongyang’s launches appeared to test new missiles with irregular trajectories designed to penetrate ballistic missile defences, including the Aegis Ashore stations. Typically, such defence systems are designed to counter projectiles on predictable flight paths.

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