Photo taken on March 22, 2017 shows MSDF's helicopter destroyer Kaga on the right, anchored in Yokohama, near Tokyo. Another helicopter destroyer Izumo is seen on the left. Photo: IC

After Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force announced its intention to dispatch a special security unit to the Asia-Pacific region, Chinese observers said the move is to deter China's influence in region and it constitutes a major breakthrough for Japan in the military field to cooperate with US regional strategies, which threatens regional peace and stability. 

Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) said it will dispatch a special security unit to the "Indo-Pacific" region to offer capacity-building support to coast guards in the region, Japan's NHK reported on Tuesday. 

The MSDF says the deployment will come in May or later to help regional coast guards enhance their capabilities in conducting inspections of suspicious ships and other skills.

It has not revealed details on exactly where the unit will be sent and how long the mission will be.

Sources close to the Japanese defense ministry told NHK that the move comes in response to requests from multiple Pacific Island countries, and that the special unit will provide support for several days for each country.

This will be the first time an SDF special unit will provide capacity-building support for foreign agencies.

"This is a major breakthrough for Japan in military terms, and it must be met with high vigilance by the international community," said Lü Chao, a research fellow at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

In recent years, Japan has been rapidly accelerating its military buildup, attempting to break through its previous exclusively defense-oriented policy, but there has never been a precedent for sending "special police teams" to other countries, Lü said.

He noted that this is a major move by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida after his visit to the US where he took part in a trilateral summit with leaders of the US and the Philippines earlier this month.

The US, Japan, Australia and the Philippines also held a joint maritime exercise in the South China Sea earlier this month.

Japan's move is intended to widen its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region after the US Coast Guard announced an increase in maritime patrols and training activities in June last year, a military expert, who requested anonymity, told the Global Times. He said Japan's move is aimed at both cooperating with US strategy in the Asia-Pacific region and countering China's cooperation with regional countries.