JAPANESE CLAIM CHINA DREW A RED LINE: From The Japan Times:

China strongly warned a high-level Japanese official around late June that Tokyo should not send Self-Defense Forces to join U.S. operations that test the freedom of navigation in the disputed South China Sea, diplomatic sources said Saturday. Japan will “cross a red line” if SDF vessels take part in so-called freedom of navigation operations, Ambassador Cheng Yonghua told the official, the sources said. Cheng even hinted at military action.

The SDF is the official name of the Japanese military. “SDF vessels” are the Japanese navy. Obama’s Syrian “red line” vanished, but that’s Obama. Read the article. China and Japan have exchanged several serious warnings.