Japan denies claims of “new militarism” and accuses China of rapidly arming itself
Japan denies accusations of militarism, criticizes China’s military buildup, and stresses dialogue even though tensions are rising in the area.
China has said that Japan is supporting “new militarism,” but Japan has denied these claims. Tensions between the two Asian powers are rising.
Shinjiro Koizumi, Japan’s Defense Minister, spoke at the Shangri-La Dialogue security meeting in Singapore and criticized China for quickly building up its military while not being open about it.
Mr. Koizumi said that China’s growing military actions and spending on defense worried Japan and the rest of the world.
In response to Beijing’s criticism, he said that reports that Japan was becoming more militaristic were not true, since the country does not have any nuclear weapons or strategic bombers.
He said that Japan’s actions after the Second World War showed that it would follow international law, the UN Charter, and an orderly world.
China has said many bad things about Japan’s recent changes to its defense policies. China told its neighbors in the Asia-Pacific region in May to be careful of what it called Japan’s “neo-militarism.”Major General Meng Xiangqing, a military representative from China, said at the Singapore forum that Japan had not fully dealt with the effects of its militarism during the war and asked if Japan could win back the trust of countries it had attacked in the past.
In the past few years, things have gotten worse between the two countries. Concerns grew after Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said last year that a military reaction to a Chinese attack on Taiwan might happen.
China thinks of Taiwan as part of its land, but Taiwan’s government doesn’t agree with Beijing’s claims of authority.
Mr. Koizumi said he was sorry he couldn’t meet China’s defense minister at the summit, but he insisted that Japan was still committed to dialogue and peace in the area.
China’s Defense Minister Dong Jun did not go to the Shangri-La Dialogue, which is one of the most important security gatherings in Asia, for the second year in a row.
Mr. Koizumi also said that Japan was set on taking a bigger part in defense cooperation in the Asia-Pacific area and making the region’s defenses stronger.
