Though the Chinese Navy's operating doctrine has changed from 'near sea defence' to 'far seas operations', China has a long way to go in becoming a real maritime power.

Nick Rau, energy campaigner at Friends of the Earth, agreed. 'We could easily supply our electricity demand from offshore, even with other demands on sea such as shipping, fishing and defence radar.

The former reaffirmed sea lanes defence as the ultimate goal of Japan's maritime strategy and identified two different approaches for pursuing it.