China Censures Japan’s Dangerous Arms Expansion

 

The Japanese Prime Minister Kishita ordered a sharp increase in Japan’s defense budget for the 2023-2027 fiscal year. In regard to this, the spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry warned that it is very dangerous of Japan to build-up its military forces while making much ado about the tense situation in the region ever so often.

He continued to stress as follows:

In the last ten years, the Japanese government has continued to increase its defense budget. Japan’s such acts compel the neighbouring Asian countries and the international community to cast strong doubts as to whether Japan can maintain “total defense” and be on the road to peaceful development. Japan should deeply reflect upon its history of aggression, respect the security concerns of neighbouring Asian countries, mind its p's and q’s in the fields of military and security, and do more things that are beneficial to regional peace and stability.

Recently, under the pretext of possessing “counterattack capability”, Japan officially announced a plan to mass produce missiles in the range of over 1 000km and expressed its intention to develop long-range and hypersonic missiles, while trying to step up the deployment of high-tech weapons.

At the end of last August, the Japanese defense minister, referring to hypersonic weapons, underlined the need for Japan to not only increase its interception capability but also its counterattack capability. Meanwhile, the Japanese defense ministry said that China’s large-scale military drill conducted around the island of Taiwan constitutes a threat to Japan and requested funds for the development and production of over 1 000km-range cruise and hypersonic missiles.

In this regard, China, through its foreign ministry spokesperson, disclosed that Japan, of late, is repeatedly making a big fuss about “threat from China” and spreading a rumour about ballistic missile plans and the growth of so-called counterattack capability. It further noted that these are all manifestations of Japan’s ambition to make an excuse for organizing an offensive military force and tried again the old path of military expansion, being unfettered by its peace constitution.

A Chinese military specialist commented as follows:

Japan’s attempt to increase an inventory of its long-range cruise missile to over 1 000 on a plea for strengthening “counterattack capability” reveals its intention to possess the capacity to serialize the production of long-range cruise missiles. Japan may even try to manufacture ballistic missiles, nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers, which are all restricted and prohibited by the Japanese constitution.

Above-mentioned facts show that China remains vigilant against Japan’s reckless arms expansion, regarding it as a grave encroachment upon regional peace and stability.