Japan is trying to mislead Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries into more security cooperation by inviting them on board Japan’s biggest warship JS Izumo, says Luo Yongkun , associate professor at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations. Luo says Japan is trying to wrongly convince countries that China is a destabilizer in the South China Sea, and they must work with Japan or the US to contain China. 

Japan’s largest warship steamed into the South China Sea this week and invited Asian military guests on board to witness helicopters looping over the tropical waters and gunners blasting target buoys. Military officers from the ten-member ASEAN boarded the 248-meter carrier in Singapore on Monday. It returned on Friday after demonstrating naval skills and kit Tokyo hopes will help it bolster alliances in the region.  Current affairs commentator Einar Tangen points out Japan may also be trying to promote its arms sales.  

He argues that selling weapons to a volatile situation is not the answer to "peace," and Japan is playing a very dangerous game.

"We are not just here to show our presence, but from the outside that is what it looks like," Rear Admiral Yoshihiro Goga, the commander of the mission, said aboard the Izumo-class helicopter carrier.

The Izumo turned back to Singapore before crossing the nine-dash-line. The high-profile cruise marked a concerted push into military diplomacy by hawkish Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

While the US has confronted China by sending warships close to China's island bases in the South China Sea, Japan so far has shied away from similar provocations.

Last week, Japan’s Coast Guard and Vietnamese maritime law enforcement held their first-ever joint exercise focused on stopping illegal fishing in the South China Sea.