The Japanese government did not modify the guidelines or back down in any way in the face of Chinese criticisms that they could involve combat in the Taiwan Strait.
The official view was that this was a commitment in principle that did not have clearly defined geographical limits, but the chief secretary to the cabinet publicly asserted that did they did cover the Taiwan Strait.
Interestingly, the Japanese government ignored the Chinese protests and neither confirmed nor denied his statement.
The Japanese meanwhile had become increasingly concerned about the annual double – digit percentage increases in China’s military budget, the effort to acquire a power projection capability and the advanced weapons purchases from the Russians.
They pressed the Chinese for greater transparency.