A U.S. magazine says if China and Japan met in battle over the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, the maritime war would be “a close-run thing.”

Foreign Policy said though the Chinese Navy is far larger than Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force, “Japanese mariners are renowned for their professionalism.” The report also noted that Japan’s maritime defense forces have “accumulated several pockets of material excellence, such as undersea warfare, since World War Two.”

The report said both China and Japan have their own strengths in terms of asymmetrical forces and geographic conditions, adding that there is little possibility that the two countries will engage in battle on the sea.