Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Thursday voiced fresh concern about China's defence spending and its maritime activities and said Japan should focus on its alliance with the United States.
Kan also pledged to take the lead in setting up rules on regional ocean disputes and boost ties with Tokyo's Asian neighbours to better confront security risks like North Korea's nuclear programme.
"We can't help but have concerns about a certain lack of transparency in (China's) defence build-up and growing maritime activities," Kan said in a foreign policy speech ahead of this year's parliament session, which starts on Monday.
