Saturday’s Sankei led with a report on the outline of Japan’s Diplomatic Bluebook 2021 that the paper obtained ahead of the release of the document. The paper claimed that the bluebook will state that China’s increasing military activities in the South and East China Seas pose “serious security concerns for the region, including Japan, and the international community.” The paper wrote that this year Japan will use stronger language than last year  when the report said “the expansion and increased vigor of China’s military activities are common concerns in the region and the international community.” The reference to China’s human rights violations in Xinjiang will also be drastically expanded. Foreign Minister Motegi is planning to announce the contents of the bluebook at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.   

In a related development, the paper wrote on Sunday that China is moving forward with revising its maritime traffic safety law to strengthen control of its territorial waters. The paper speculated that the revision will allow maritime authorities to demand that foreign vessels leave Chinese waters when the authorities judge that they pose a threat to China. The paper wrote that the revision will be another source of concern following the new coast guard law that was enacted in February because it could lead to an increase in Chinese government ships’ activities around the Senkaku Islands.