Nation on alert as Japan launches ship

Beijing said on Thursday it has reasons to stay "highly alert" to Tokyo's military moves and the real intentions behind them, one day after a large Japanese escort vessel was commissioned.

Japan's 248-meter helicopter carrier Kaga entered service on Wednesday, giving the nation's military greater ability to deploy beyond its shores, Reuters reported.

The Kaga shares the same name as a Japanese aircraft carrier that was sunk by the United States in World War II.