The escalating tensions with Japan have featured strongly in China's traditional and online media in the past two months, but especially in recent weeks. China's announcement of a new Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) to be established over the East China Sea sparked a strong response from Japan and the United States, which led to further harsh remarks from China. Prime Minister Abe's criticism of China's air defense zone at a recent summit with Southeast Asia was called “malicious” by China's state media, such as Huanqiu shibao and Renmin ribao. China's Foreign Ministry spokesman's comment about Japan's attempts against China being “doomed” circulated widely on-line and was reprinted by most media outlets. Much commentary on the issue carried nationalistic fervor, highlighting China's relative strength and Japan's fault in exacerbating the conflict. “US and Japan are in panic: China's 'mysterious' military force is too scary,” read one of the titles in the commentary section of Huanqiu shibao. Arguments were also put forward about Japan using the China threat to bolster its military capabilities, with references being made to its aggression against China during the Second World War.

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