Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

The PLA aircraft carrier Liaoning heads back to its home port of Qingdao after a month of sea trials in the South China Sea, Jan. 1, 2014.

Admitting that Japan has the capability to project its naval force to the South China Sea, Admiral Li Jie of China's People's Liberation Army said Chinese warships also have the right to ram Japanese ships in the disputed region, according to the nationalistic Chinese tabloid Global Times.

Tokyo's Kyodo News reported that Japan is considering about when and how to intervene in the complex territorial disputes in the South China Sea, which China claims almost in its entirety despite conflicting claims from neighboring states. The Japanese government declared the South China Sea to be a critical matter to Japan's national interests when the Diet was reviewing the nation's mutual cooperation and security treaty with the United States. Japan is likely to provide logistical support to the US Navy operating in the region.

Li Jie told Global Times that Japan would have no technical barriers to sending its warships and aircraft to the South China Sea. The P-3C anti-submarine warfare aircraft, and E-2C and E-767 early warning aircraft of the Japan Self-Defense Forces can fly directly from Japan to the area, he said, while its KC-767J refueling aircraft can extend the operational range of fighters such as the F-15J and F-2. Japanese warships including the newly commissioned helicopter destroyer Izumo are perfectly designed for operations in the South China Sea, Li said.

This notwithstanding, Japan will face diplomatic pressure from Southeast Asian nations if it demonstrates strong political ambitions in the region, Li said. The admiral warned that Japanese politicians think carefully about sending aircraft or warships to the South China Sea because China may not only express its opposition through diplomatic channels. Chinese warships have the legal right to ram vessels that intrude on national territory, according to Li — a further suggestion that the distinction between territorial and international waters may not be acknowledged by Beijing.