Japan's decision to participate in joint patrols with the United States in the contested South China Sea is a ploy by Tokyo to gain a "bargaining chip" in its dispute with China over the Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Islands in China) in the East China Sea, China's state-run news agency Xinhua said on Saturday.

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In an editorial, Xinhua said Japan has "ulterior motives" for interfering in the South China Sea including seeking favors from the United States and drumming up support from the international community for its territorial row with China over the Senkaku Islands.

The editorial said Chinese President Xi Jinping has issued a warning to Japan for crossing what he described as a "red line" by joining forces with the US to conduct freedom of navigation patrols and multilateral military exercises with regional navies in the South China Sea.

Fishing

"As keeping maritime order in the South China Sea is a shared duty of the region's coastal states, the huge interest an outsider like Japan has shown in following in the footsteps of the United States can hardly be justified," the editorial said.

The editorial added that Japan is obviously "fishing" in the waters of the South China Sea by increasing its military presence and not truly seeking to promote regional peace.

The commentary argued that the only interest Japan has in joining the US in joint patrols in the strategic waterway is to use it as a "bargaining chip" in its conflict with China over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.

No stone unturned

"On this issue, Japan has left no stone unturned in stirring up the waters to cause tensions with, for instance, its recent plan to cheaply sell arms to India in return for the latter's voice against China." the editorial pointed out.

The editorial comes on the heels of the Japanese government's announcement that it will step up its activities in the South China Sea which includes joining US forces in freedom of navigation patrols and engaging in bilateral and multilateral naval exercises with regional navies.

In July, the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled for the Philippines over China's in a case about the ownership of territories in the disputed South China Sea. Manila filed the case against China in 2013.

The ruling said that China has no legal basis to claims to more than 80 percent of the South China Sea under its nine-dash line. The court also ruled that Beijing had violated the rights of the Philippines to explore resources within its exclusive economic zone.

China did not participate in the court proceedings and rejected the ruling, dismissing it as "illegal" and "null and void."

The disputed South China Sea is believed to have large deposits of gas and oil, and more than 40 percent of global ship-borne trade passes through the area each year.

Besides China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei, and Malaysia have competing claims to the strategic waterway. 

TagsUS-Japan joint patrols, South China Sea, Senkaku Islands, Military exercises, Freedom of navigation patrols, United States, china, Japan