Japan rejected China’s accusation that it is pursuing “new militarism,” a sharp rebuke against Beijing as tensions between the two countries continue to simmer.
Without explicitly naming China, Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi yesterday said that Tokyo was being unfairly called out for its moves to increase spending on long-range missiles and other weapons.
“There is a country that has a huge arsenal of nuclear weapons and strategic bombers,” Koizumi said in a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. “Japan has neither of such weapons, and yet Japan is labeled new militarism. Isn’t it strange?”
Photo: Reuters
Japan has faced political pressure from China over Tokyo’s decision to invest more in defense, a pivot it said is needed to prevent conflict by equipping itself with the ability to respond to threats.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has moved to lift restrictions on weapons exports and openly speculated about a fight over Taiwan, while Japanese combat troops recently joined US-led exercises in the Philippines for the first time.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs last month said: “Japan’s new militarism has become a menace, threatening regional peace.”
Beijing has sought to rally other countries around the idea that there are parallels to the fight against Imperial Japan during World War II.
“But nothing further from the truth,” Koizumi said, adding that Japan’s efforts were intended to deter conflict and were being conducted in a transparent way.
Koizumi’s speech was marked with references to Japan’s concern about China’s growing assertiveness, which are contributing to what he called the “weaponization of everything” in the Indo-Pacific region.
“We seek a region that can stand against coercion. We seek a region that is not misled by falsehoods. We seek a region that is not influenced by pressure,” he said.
“China continues to increase its defense spending at a high level and is rapidly expanding its military capabilities across a wide range of areas without sufficient transparency,” Koizumi said.
China’s defense budget is around five times larger than that of Japan, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
“Japan will further strengthen cooperation with all of you,” Koizumi said, adding that he looked forward to speaking again with this Chinese counterpart, who did not attend the forum this year.
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